


The Worst in Me

by Efaya



Series: Raised by Wolves [2]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Action & Romance, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Alternate Universe - Werewolf, Blood, Blood Kink, Blood and Injury, Blood and Violence, Drama & Romance, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Family Issues, Fluff and Humor, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Smut, Mating Bond, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Pack Family, Romance, Sex, Sexual Content, Shameless Smut, Supernatural Elements, Werewolf Culture, Werewolf Mates, Werewolf Sex, Werewolves, Wolf Pack
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-24
Updated: 2020-09-14
Packaged: 2021-02-26 17:14:30
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 41,432
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21551947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Efaya/pseuds/Efaya
Summary: The hard part was falling in love with your dream girl.The really hard part is keeping her safe from the wolves.
Relationships: Haruno Sakura/Uchiha Sasuke, Hyuuga Hinata/Uzumaki Naruto, Sai/Yamanaka Ino, Uchiha Itachi/Uchiha Izumi/Uchiha Shisui
Series: Raised by Wolves [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1553323
Comments: 90
Kudos: 353





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Since the werewolf AU was so well received on here and on Tumblr, I decided to keep it going with a sequel piece. It's a fun AU to write that I haven't seen many others explore with these characters. So, hopefully this is obvious enough but **please** read the first piece before reading this! It sets this whole story up in terms of where Sasuke and Sakura stand in their relationship. **(That fic is What's a Little Fur Between Friends?)** That fic is heavily smut, and this one will be as well.  
> Title is taken from a Bad Omens song - _The Worst in Me_
> 
> __  
> _I had you in my grip, but you're starting to slip_  
>  _Bring out the worst in me_  
>  _And now it's come to end, I think I'm giving in_  
>  _You set my demons free_  
> 

. . .

The past week had been some of the best moments of Sasuke’s life. He was irritated with himself for denying his raging hormones for so many years, but the week of debauchery with Sakura made up for it. She had been extremely accepting of what he was. It never occurred to him that she would be okay with what he truly was, and always wondered how she would reject him after learning that _I can turn into a giant wolf._

As the water ran through his dark hair, cleaning off the sweat that lined his skin from spending the morning in bed with Sakura, he felt oddly calm. His muscles were relaxed, heartbeat felt normal, and the heat his body had been putting off the past week started to dissipate. He found himself turning the water up, a sign that his body was exiting his heat. It was kind of bittersweet. Every time he experienced the lust brought on by a werewolf’s natural phase of intense sexual need, he had never enjoyed it. It was always something he tried to will away on his own. Now that it was finally ending naturally, he was a little upset that the commanding desire would be fading. 

Sasuke got out the shower, towel drying his hair, and wrapping a black towel low around his waist. A glance in the mirror showed the _damage_ that he had sustained over the week with Sakura. A small smirk couldn’t help but appear as he glanced over the indented bite marks on his shoulders. _It’s only fair since I gave her a pretty permanent one._ He thought it was rather funny that the shy and embarrassed Sakura had gladly decorated his body with love bites. In honesty, he enjoyed how they looked.

He made his way out of the small bathroom space to Sakura laying on the couch in the main living space. The cabin was very small, a room containing the living space, bed, and kitchenette, attached to a small bathroom. It was all they really needed as they had spent their week preoccupied with one another, trying to catch up on all the time they had missed out on.

Sakura looked over the back of the couch to see Sasuke standing with only a towel to cover his hips. A smile crept up her face, eyes leering low.

“Why hello there wolf boy… What brings you here…?” Purring out her words as she let her long hair flow over the back of the sofa. She had become rather straightforward with her desires during the week they spent together. Sasuke had been the one in control most of the time, since his wolf side preferred it that way.

He sighed from the endearment she kept using.

“I’ve given up with getting you to stop calling me that,” he walked over, his hand reaching out to cradle her cheek. “I guess I can make an exception since you have been so _friendly_ this past week…”

Sakura’s cheeks flushed to their cute rosy shade of pink. She reached out an arm to run her fingers along his exposed torso, still hanging over the back of the sofa.

“You feel colder this morning, Sasuke. You feeling okay?” Sakura wasn’t used to Sasuke not feeling so hot to the touch.

He shrugged, releasing his gentle hold on her face. 

“My heat is wearing off. I’m returning back to normal.”

“Does this mean we’re going back today?” She seemed disappointed.

“We can’t exactly stay cooped up in the woods forever,” Sasuke smirked. “As tempting as it is to stay in bed with you for another week, I do have to go to work eventually. I also have a dog who probably doesn’t know what is going on.”

Sakura turned and fell back onto the sofa.

“Yeah… you’re right…” Sakura pouted. 

Sasuke walked around and sat next to Sakura on the small sofa. “Do you have to go back soon? I never really got to ask you how long you were for the holidays?”

A frown fell on Sakura’s face. Sasuke knew it was a sore spot for her to discuss, but she did eventually have to back. _Go back to her home. I just don’t like the sound of that._ He leaned forward, his head resting on her chest as they sat on the chair. She had the sweetest smell that he didn’t get tired of. Something similar to apples or strawberries, either way its constant presence was something he really enjoyed. 

His eyes looked to a small love bite on the top of her breast, exposed by her baggy tank top. He knew he left many of them adorning her body. It was surprising to him that Sakura didn’t question what he was all, at least not a lot, during their constant love making. There were moments when instead of taking his time like they did the very first day they ended up in the cabin, his wolf had no patience.

_Sakura stood in the shower, humming as she ran conditioner into her hair, taking care to cover every pink strand before letting it sit for a few minutes. A creak sounded from the bathroom door, alerting her to try to see what it was through the shower door. She assumed it was Sasuke, but he was very quiet._

_The shower door was jerked open by a firm hand with some decent claws for fingernails. His face started to shift into more of his wolf appearance - eyes angled, pupils glowing gold, large canine teeth throughout his entire mouth. It wasn't exactly what she thought of as attractive growing up, but on Sasuke it was… different. No words escaped his mouth as he pushed his way inside, naked and very aroused. She wasn't sure what to say as a low rumble came from his chest._

_"Are you okay Sasuke? You umm… you're a little **excited** there…" she couldn't continue her sentence as he pushed her body against the shower wall. Her breasts flattened against the cool surface, forehead touching it as he ground his hips against her ass. She could feel the rigid member rub against her as water cascaded down their bodies. His dark hair had matted against his face once drenched with water._

_Sasuke didn't say anything as he ran a sharp claw down her back, a shot of pain as it raked down her spine, but she felt the sensation in her core. He leaned forward, pushing her more against the wall, hot water still raining over them, and nipped at the back of her neck. The sharp teeth were a strangely welcome sensation as they bit and rugged at whatever they could. He seemed a little more aggressive with his teeth than before, as the tugs at her delicate skin left her purring against the wall. She could hear him growl against one of his fingers, soaking it before plunging right into her sex with two demanding digits._

_"S-Sasuke!"_

_He kept a firm grip on her hip with one hand as the other ravaged her folds quickly. His hand hammered in and out, rubbing against her clit every time he plunged back inside. She moaned, begged, for him to give her release as her hips buckled under his touch. A sharp fang nipped her ear, sending her flying as she came hard from the mixture of sensations against her body. Seemingly satisfied, he quickly pulled his fingers out and pulled her hips upward to meet his. A thick tip pushed against her entrance, but gave way as she was drenched from her climax moments ago._

_"F-fuck! Oh my god… Ah!"_

_She could barely speak as he rammed the rest of his dick inside her, hard. Relentlessly, he hammered away, her body pushed completely against the wall as he ravaged her. It was intense with sharp claws digging into her plump hips and growls coming from his chest. Sasuke didn't seem to be there - only his wolf taking what it wanted. She wasn't complaining as it felt incredible with every thrust hitting so deep inside her. Water still ran over them, exacerbating the sound of his hips slamming against her ass._

_His head leaned against the nape of her neck, bracing himself as he let his hips ram against her with every thrust. His mind was blank, only pleasure as his wolf enjoyed the tight warmth of her sheath against his dick. As dazed as he was, he still knew she wasn't quite there yet. He snaked a hand around to her clit, tugging and rubbing at the small bud in an attempt to get her to climax before he did. She jerked under his touch, screaming against the white side of the shower as his thrusts pushed her against the hard plastic surface. When she clenched down on his shaft, he let out a howl and dug his nails into her soft flesh, pouring his seed into her._

_The water ran down his back, leaning over the pinkette who was barely standing in the shower. Sasuke released his nails from her frame, noticing they dug a little too deep, leaving small holes. He slid his dick out of her, moving back so water could run down her body. She could barely move her body as her orgasm left her exhausted. Offering his arm, she was able to stand up and move under the water. He reached for a soap bar sitting on the shelf, lathering up to wash her back. She groaned as he meticulously massaged her tired muscles. The soap was a mild, clean scent that didn’t cover up too much of Sakura’s natural sweet smells. Sasuke put the soap away, reaching around to touch Sakura’s face._

_“You okay?” He was a little worried by her silence after their intense act._

_“Yeah… that was… wow…” she took a deep breath, clearly taken aback by what just happened. “I didn’t expect that… am I crazy or did you howl? Like a wolf?”_

_Sasuke avoided her gaze when she turned around to face him. It didn’t fully hit him that he even howled. He tried to shuffle his way out of the shower, but Sakura’s hand grabbed his before he could push the shower door open. She nudged him to turn the shower water off, then slipped out. A devious smirk appeared the young woman’s face._

_“You’re embarrassed. Sasuke Uchiha is embarrassed,” she giggled as he handed her towel with a scowl decorating his jaw. She was enjoying this way too much. “I’m not upset or anything, but this is just kinda funny. You never get this way.”_

_He groaned. “Look, I don’t even know why that happened. It slipped.”_

_“Sureee. You came close to popping out a tail?”_

_He rolled his eyes, toweling off his hair as she laughed in the small space next to him. “You’re not gonna let this go, are you?”_

_She smiled, wrapping a towel around her body._

_“It’s too fun to mess with you,” she wrapped a smaller towel around her hair. “Besides, that… that was really hot.”_

_“I don’t know what to think of you liking this so much,” he smirked, opening the door to the main cabin space. “You got a thing for wolves?”_

_She huffed._

_“No, I just apparently have a thing for aggressive werewolves.”_

“You okay Sasuke?”

“Hn?” He lifted his head, realizing he dazed off for a bit.

She sighed. “We should probably call Naruto for a ride. I’ll go throw on some clothes for outside.” She pushed off from the sofa, leaving Sasuke sitting there with his towel barely hanging on his waist. He watched her walk over to the dresser in the corner, his eyes linger up her body. A small growl almost emitted from his lips as she mentioned calling for Naruto get them. Possessiveness was creeping into his bones. Despite what he wanted, he knew she had to leave soon.

He was getting too attached.

. . .

He knew the dobe was going to be a curious bastard the moment he showed up - but this was insufferable. Sasuke sat up front with Naruto as Sakura splayed out in the backseat with sunglasses covering her sleep deprived eyes. The second they sat inside of Naruto’s car, he could tell the dobe could smell it. A trait that he never realized how annoying it could be was their sense of smell. Werewolves in skin had a much better sense of smell than any human. It was irritating Sasuke that Naruto could clearly smell what had happened between the two of them.

“So…” Naruto tapped the steering wheel as drove down the quiet state highway. “You finally don’t reek of being in heat. It’s actually pretty pleasant to be around you now.” Naruto snickered as the Uchiha was fuming in the seat. Sakura turned her head after hearing his remark.

“Wait, smell?” She asked from the back, Sasuke looking out the window to avoid the conversation going on around him.

“Well yeah,” Naruto side-eyed his best friend. “We can smell almost as good as a wolf even looking like this.” He noticed the curiosity rise in Sakura’s stare when he glanced in the rear-view mirror. “Teme did you even tell her that I’m a werewolf too?”

Sasuke groaned. “Was kinda too busy to talk about you, dobe.”

Naruto rolled his eyes at the temperamental Uchiha. “At least you’re somewhat tolerable now. If all it took was getting you laid, I would have flown Sakura down here years ago.”

Even with giant sunglasses covering half of her face, a pink flush could still be seen on Sakura’s cheeks. Sasuke didn’t miss it as he eyed her from the side mirror. 

“You’re such an ass,” Sasuke sighed at the smiling driver. Sometimes he wasn’t sure how he hadn’t strangled Naruto already. “My dog better be perfect when we get back or I’m kicking your ass.”

“Luna’s fine. I think she was fine once I fed her,” Naruto paused. “Say, you guys gonna keep this ‘a thing’, you know?”

Sasuke was a little uncomfortable thinking of what lay ahead for the new couple, but tried to brush his worries away for the time being. “That was the idea.”

“Doesn’t Sakura have to go back soon though? I mean she doesn’t exactly live here and all…” Naruto stopped himself. “I’m sure you guys will figure it out. You were always the smarter two!” Naruto’s laugh was covering up his nervousness, and Sasuke knew him well enough to sense when he wasn’t being truthful.

They pulled up to the Uchiha’s house, Naruto putting the car into park so he could let the others out. “I’ll bring Luna by later. Hinata brought her new puppy by and the two were really having fun in the backyard.” He shrugged. “I’ll text you when I’m on the way over with her and Sakura’s stuff.”

Naruto waved goodbye to the two, driving off to his own house. Sakura looked at Sasuke’s house with a small smile. “It’s really cute.”

“Thanks. It was an old family property that I redid. It’s not completely finished yet, but it’s getting there,” Sasuke explained, walking towards the door with Sakura by his side. He didn’t want to admit it out loud, but he felt very peaceful walking up to his home with her. The wolf really likes her too.

As Sasuke fumbled with his key ring to open the front door, it instead opened from the inside. A young man stood in the doorway, an indistinguishable look on his face as he eyed the young couple in front of him. Sasuke inwardly cursed. 

_Why does my family have to pry?_

. . . 

It had been many years since Sakura last laid eyes on Itachi. The man always seemed wiser than his age would suggest. His ever long, well-maintained hair was kept tied neatly behind him, his trademark look he had adorned since they were all very young. Itachi was a simple man when it came to his clothes, choosing to wear a basic black t-shirt with a nice pair of pants. Sakura couldn’t help but blush at the handsome older brother of Sasuke. The younger brother noticed, as he moved slightly closer to the pinkette.

“Nice to see you Sasuke,” Itachi murmured, his gaze more focused on the girl to his side. “Had a nice week?”

Sakura could almost feel the anger coming from the man standing next to her. She reached her hand out to touch his, hoping to soothe his anger at least a little bit.

“Itachi,” Sasuke nodded, trying to focus on the soft touch grazing the back of his hand. “Why are you in my home?”

Itachi casually shrugged, “Can’t I visit?” He sauntered inside, the younger two following him in after a brief pause. Sakura stayed at Sasuke’s side, not sure what to make of the interaction currently happening between the two brothers.

Sasuke closed the door, looking back to his brother who sat leisurely on his sofa. Sakura looked around the room, noting the wood paneling for the walls, and the tall ceiling with wooden rafters running across. It looked like one of the old cabins, but noted Sasuke definitely spent some time restoring it with the modern decor choices. She kept off to the side as Sasuke wandered up to his brother, a scowl set on his face. _This can’t be good._

“You never ‘just visit’ and you know that,” Sasuke sounded aggravated as he stood next to his brother who splayed out on the couch. “So why are you actually here? Don’t you need to go home to your partners?”

Sakura’s ears poked up. _Partners? As in plural?_

“You’re very hostile for someone who’s not even in heat, but wolves can be so possessive when they find someone they want to mate…” Itachi smirked at the end of the sentence, Sasuke nearly flying into a rage, until Sakura grabbed his hand.

She looked up at her love, silently pleading for him to calm down. Sasuke realized he was upsetting her, taking a few deep breaths. Itachi chuckled.

“Yeah, you are as bad as dad,” he turned away from Sasuke, setting his onyx eyes on Sakura. “It’s lovely to see you again Sakura. It’s been years. You have definitely grown into a wonderful woman.” He smiled, his head snapping to Sasuke with a frown once he sensed his brother's rage. “Oh calm down. I’m not after your woman.”

Sasuke rolled his eyes, breaking away from Sakura to sit in a loveseat nearby. She remained standing near Itachi, trying to be polite as her lover didn’t want anything to do with his brother.

“It’s nice to see you again Itachi,” she smiled, genuinely happy to see a familiar face. He replied in kind.

“I see you have been with my brother the past week. I take it you know?”

She blushed, only confirming his suspicions. Sasuke stayed away, trying to remove himself from the conversation, but failing as he silently seethed.

“Well, I suppose it was bound to happen. You’re old enough now to do as you please,” he paused, standing up. “I wanted to get a look at Haruno before I went back home. I’m sure Shisui and Izumi would love her over for dinner at some point. Also, mom and dad are gonna want to meet her soon.”

The curious man made his way to the door, waving goodbye to the two as he let himself out of Sasuke’s home. Sakura stared at Sasuke after his brother left.

“Does he… Does he have two uhh… spouses?”

Sasuke nodded. “Shisui and Izumi. They’re good people, he’s just an ass.”

It was a little… different, but Sakura could understand. She made her way to lounge on the sofa where Itachi just rested. It already seemed like the rest of her trip was going to be an interesting one if Itachi’s visit was any indication. Sakura kicked off her boots, sitting back into the comfortable black cushions. She took a deep breath, relaxing as she barely noticing Sasuke slipping beside her on the sofa.

“Oh hey,” she blurted out, not expecting the handsome man slyly moving quickly to her side. He leaned his head against her shoulders, sighing. “Something on your mind?”

“Everything.”

“Well that’s not very specific.”

“I’m tired of my brother getting in my business. I’m 21 and he still does this shit…” he murmured, cozying up to her side, taking a deep breath. Her face was red, trying to contain herself as the handsome man nuzzled her with a slight growl. 

His eyes looked up, a swirl of gold in them. “You know I can smell when you’re aroused, right?”

“Wait, really?” She wanted to scream.

He nodded, a smirk crawling across his face, “Yep. It keeps turning me on.”

“I… I h-had no idea you could do that… But I guess being a wolf and all, it makes sense…” Sakura stuttered out as Sasuke worked a hand under her fluffy sweater. “S-Sasuke?”

“What?” He ran his tongue against her ear. “Can’t help it. You smell good.”

She arched under his touch, a small moan escaping her mouth before she covered it up with her hands. He chuckled, his mouth still close to her ear, sending shivers through her body. _He flips so fast when he gets like this…_

As he slipped a couple of fingers under her bra, his phone started to ring.

“For fuck’s sake…” his hand retreated from her shirt turning his attention to whomever called. “What the fuck do you want dobe?” 

Sakura flushed as she was still very heated from Sasuke’s touch, watching him as he talked on the phone with presumably Naruto.

_I can’t really blame him for being mad… that was really nice._

“Whatever, yeah bring my dog over and her stuff,” Sasuke threw his phone at the other chair. A hiss coming from his lips. “That idiot is the ultimate mood killer.”

Sakura sighed. “You’re not wrong…”

Sasuke sneaked a kiss, throwing Sakura off guard as he greedily pushed his tongue into her mouth. She wasn’t prepared for his attack, falling onto her back on the plush surface. He leaned over her, his warm body pushing against her as he continued his assault on her mouth. A fang nipped her lip during the heated exchange - another moan of hers muffled in his mouth - only fueling his overacting hormones. Even though he wasn’t physically in pain like he was in heat, Sasuke just couldn’t help himself as he pushed further, tasting the sweet flavor that seemed to line her lips. 

“S-Sasuke… Sasuke!” She barely pushed him off, face bright red and struggling to breath. “Isn’t Naruto on the way? We should stop…”

He blinked at her, seeming to take in what just happened. His tongue traced the tiny bit of blood on his lip, tasting the metallic tang left behind, as he felt just how long his teeth had gotten during their kiss. Sakura only watched as his eyes widened.

“I-I’m sorry…” Sasuke backed off, standing up and walking away. Sakura stayed seated on the couch as he wandered down the hallway, out of sight.

_Is he okay…?_

. . . 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sakura knew he was losing it again. His eyes were teeming with hints of red, swirling in his onyx orbs. Almost like _he_ was a drug, she just couldn’t contain herself as his hands rubbed against her back, bunching her sweater up to work their way underneath its soft fabric.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again all! I figured alternating my current two multi-chap fics would keep me from getting burnt out on one or the other. Honestly, I might pick back up another fic that I wrote months back since I wanted to make it multi-chap anyways. I'm trying to build up the plot here, but hopefully it's not too slow for you all. This fic is turning out to be much smuttier than _Drown_ , which I know some people will like. It's werewolves, so there's gonna be smut. That's just how it is.
> 
> _I need relief; a failure's coming on_  
>  _Just breathe in deep; it's taking far too long_  
> 

. . .

_Fuck. Fuck. Fuck._

Sasuke stormed down the hallway, throwing open the door to the small bathroom. He looked at himself in the mirror, noticing the small changes. His teeth had definitely elongated, eyes were more red than gold, and his nails were slightly longer than normal as he looked down at his hands. Sasuke was at a loss. He thought his heat was over, but something wasn’t quite right. He was annoyed with himself that he ignored his brain and went straight for Sakura like she was a snack.

_I can’t ask Itachi. No way._

He groaned thinking of the next best person to ask.

_I can’t believe I’m gonna ask the dobe, but who else can I ask? Itachi isn’t gonna keep his mouth shut, and Naruto is gonna bring it up every chance he gets. Fuck me. Still…_ He looked at his reflection, still tasting her blood fresh on his tongue. Disgust filled his body as he realized just how aroused he was from the taste of her blood. _This can’t be right._

He washed off his face, harshly patting his features to calm himself down. The glow in his eyes was still stubbornly present, but it was the best he could do for now. As distracting as it was, he tried to suppress the desire still floating in his thoughts. His wolf was trying to come out at a _very_ inconvenient time.

As Sasuke trekked back to the living room where Sakura rested, he could hear his front door open followed by the familiar sound of paws on the wood floors. Turning the corner to the living room, he was tackled by Luna who seemed much more excited than normal to see him. The white fluff stood on its back legs, its body leaning against him as he stood. A smile spread across his face. Luna was a newer addition to his life, but she was a good one for sure. His eyes moved to Sakura as Luna calmed down enough to jump back on the floor.

Sakura seemed elated as she jumped up, cheerfully running to the door to meet their visitors. Instead of Naruto, she latched onto the Hyuga girl he had met sparingly. Her dark violet hair was long, resting past her shoulders, not wearing anything fancy, instead opting for a modest pullover with dark pants. _Hinata? Yeah I think that’s right…_ Sakura laughed as she hugged the quiet girl. Naruto walked in afterwards, rubbing his head with a sigh. His bright blue eyes set on the Uchiha who remained in the corner, closing the door behind him to keep the cold out.

The blonde’s eyebrow raised as he walked over to Sasuke, and away from the excited girls near the door. “Hey, you don’t look totally okay. What’s up?”

Sasuke squat down to pet Luna as she whimpered for attention next to him. His hand grazed her soft fur while he spoke to his friend. 

“I don’t know… Something’s wrong.”

Naruto squat down to meet his face, “Whatcha mean teme?”

Sasuke eyed his pink-haired lover who made her way to the couch with Hinata, still talking happily with the quiet woman. “I thought I was out of heat, but…”

Naruto looked amused. “And what? You tried to jump her bones already? Pun intended.”

“It’s not funny,” he hissed, Luna flinching from his anger. Sasuke noticed the dog’s anxiousness from the outburst, trying to soothe her. “I drew blood only a few minutes ago… I just blanked and next thing I know she pushed me off and I bit her…”

“Teme…” Naruto’s normally playful demeanor turned concerned. “You know what I’m gonna ask next.”

_I appreciate him taking this seriously._

“Yeah… I tasted her blood, and it tasted, well, good,” his face contorted as he said the words. Sasuke couldn’t believe his own actions. “This isn’t fucking right…”

Naruto pondered, eyes looking up as he thought about it.

“I think I’ve heard about it before.”

“Really?” Sasuke didn’t seem too convinced.

Naruto stood up, brushing off his thick, cold-weather pants. “Well, we could go ask granny what she thinks.”

Sasuke blanched. “You’re kidding right? This involves _Sakura_. Tsunade isn’t gonna like ANY of this.”

“Well what’s the other option here? She’s the only werewolf doctor in town.”

Sasuke groaned and stood up, Luna following him as he walked to join the others in the sitting area. Naruto followed behind, arms behind his head with a sigh. “We can see her later…” Naruto nodded after his best friend conceded.

Sakura beamed as she chatted with Hinata. Sasuke saw the small sparkle in her eyes, the green gems luring him as they always did. He finally sat on the armrest behind Sakura, keeping close to her since his body felt that it _had_ too. Hinata went quiet when she looked up at the Uchiha. She seemed a little unnerved.

”S-Sasuke. Sorry we barged into your house…” Hinata stuttered out in her quiet, mousy, voice, looking away from his eyes. Sakura turned enough to see the man sitting close behind her.

”You’re fine. The dobe is the one who needs to say sorry,” Sasuke jerked his phone in Naruto’s direction who was happily playing with Luna until he was called out.

“Teme! I told you we were coming!” Naruto retorted, Luna latching teeth firmly onto his leg as they play fought. “Luna ouch! Stop!”

Sasuke chuckled, not missing the shiver that creeped up Sakura’s spine as his low voice struck her. He loved the way she arched when his voice was low, but stopped his thoughts before he lost control again. There was no way he was going to risk losing the small amount of control he managed to keep in front of Naruto and Hinata. 

“Did I ruin the conversation?” His hand landed on Sakura’s shoulder, massaging the joint as he spoke. Just simple touches somewhat satisfied his constant hunger, but it was all he could do right now. Especially with how unpredictable he had been today.

Sakura shook her head. “We were just catching up. I haven’t seen Hinata in years, and it’s nice to catch up on what I missed.”

Hinata smiled, hands firmly in her lap. “Yeah, Naruto mentioned we were heading over here, but never mentioned that Sakura was in town,” her focus darted between Naruto and Sasuke. They could guess what was on her mind from her perplexed face.

“She knows, Hinata,” Naruto came up behind the sofa, leaning against it as Luna returned to Sasuke’s side. “It’s alright. They’ve been together for the past week.”

Hinata’s face lit up like a tomato. Sakura felt second-hand embarrassment as the topic of her and Sasuke was brought up. “Yeah… I know about the whole werewolf thing.”

“Apparently very well considering teme finally made it through heat with someone…” Naruto snickered, waiting for the Uchiha to say something back as he quietly seethed.

However, instead of Sasuke saying something, Sakura threw a punch into the blonde’s arm closest to her. “Naruto, quit it. You keep pushing his buttons.”

As the pouting blonde silently pleaded to the Hyuga next to him, she shook her head. “You brought that on yourself, Naruto.”

“About time someone else told you to shut up,” Sasuke shrugged, his hand moving to the nape of Sakura’s neck, and sliding under the back of her sweater. He could feel the heat radiating from her shivering, soft skin under his calloused palm. Over the past week, he learned how quickly his touch affected her, and how equally quick she affected him. All he wanted was to grab her and throw her in his bed immediately, endlessly touching, licking, biting every exposed piece of skin he could. Something about her kept calling his wolf back to the surface, his normally strong sense of self-control constantly breaking around her. 

“Teme,” Naruto alerted the Uchiha to his own thoughts, clearly smelling the change in the air. Sasuke removed his hand quickly, placing it back on top of her sweater. “We can figure out plans later, but we’re gonna head on back.”

_Smooth, Naruto. Real smooth._

Hinata looked a little down that they were leaving, but Naruto leaned over to whisper something in her ear. Sasuke could hear every word he said, disgust wrinkling in his face. Sakura turned to see Sasuke, curiosity in her eyes. He made a note to tell her later.

Naruto said his goodbyes to Luna, Hinata exchanging phone numbers with Sakura before leaving. Wanting a break from all the noise, Luna retreated to the other end of the house, her paws pattering against the hardwood floor. As the two of them left, Sasuke walked to the attached kitchen to grab a glass of water. Sakura followed him, walking up to the breakfast bar that rested between the two, watching him carefully. His brain was trying to throw away the information it gained from Naruto’s whispers to Hinata. _He knows I can hear shit just as well as him, and he still does that. I really don’t want to hear about them…_

“So what did he say? I’m guessing you could hear, wolf boy,” Sakura rested her arms on the counter top, watching the Uchiha put away his glass. He sighed.

“I got to hear what _wonderful_ things they were gonna do when they got back to his place,” Sasuke leaned back against the silver fridge, “complete with exactly what he wanted to touch and shit. Ugh. He is always fucking with me.”

Sakura giggled. “It’s nice to know you guys really haven’t changed.”

The sound that escaped her lips was soothing to his ears. Sakura had the cutest giggle when she watched him and the dobe fight, which was often in their younger days. It made him think of their time as teenagers, and all of their adventures hanging out in town and in the woods. He found himself standing in front of her, the last few seconds blanked from his memory as he leaned forward, his arms wrapping around her small frame. 

_I can’t stop… the smell… the taste… everything._

. . . 

Sakura knew he was losing it again. His eyes were teeming with hints of red, swirling in his onyx orbs. Almost like _he_ was a drug, she just couldn’t contain herself as his hands rubbed against her back, bunching her sweater up to work their way underneath its soft fabric. Her lips met his, a much gentler kiss than earlier, sliding against one another. She felt her bra unclasp, his hands making quick work of the hooks under her sweater. One arm moved to her front, pushing her sweater up and over her breasts in a fluid swipe. Sakura panted against his mouth, her own senses overwhelmed as he moved quickly.

_I feel… so light-headed…_

Her back found it’s way against a wall in the hallway, resting against the cool paneling as his hands fully moved to cup her breasts, roughly kneading the flesh in his newly skilled digits. She tried to reach her own hands out to touch him, but something triggered in him. A low growl came from his lips, one hand quickly moving to pin her arms above her head. Sakura moaned as she shuddered under his touch, Sasuke taking complete control of their movements. He worked a knee upward and in between her thighs, pressing firmly against her crotch and moving, rubbing along with their kiss. It was euphoric as kisses rained down her neck, as far as he could place them with his hand pinning her hands firmly above her. 

Soft lips grazed her chest, a little below her collarbone, before biting down and savoring her taste. With the hand searching her breasts and knee rubbing against her clothed core, she was lost to pleasure as his teeth clamped down. Her moans filled his home, her body arching in his touch as she begged for more.

“S-Sasuke please… I can’t take this…” she yearned for more, nearly yelling from the overwhelming pleasure as his teeth pulled out from her chest. He licked his lips before slamming them back down on her mouth, nearly knocking them both over. A metallic taste mixed with their kiss, blood staining their lips.

He released her hands, but only to grab her whole body and swiftly pick her up into his arms. Sakura’s sweater and bra bunched up above her breasts, the cold air making the peaks harden as Sasuke carried her to a door at the end of the hallway. Impatience was obvious as he simply kicked his door open since his arms were full of a certain aroused pinkette, a small growl of frustration escaping in the process. He tossed her onto the large bed, surrounded by dark burgundy walls and dark furniture, a ‘click’ signaling his bedroom door closing. She noted the plush black comforter that cushioned her fall, his body soon covering hers. 

His fingers resembled claws more than anything, slightly ripping the soft material of her sweater as he pulled it, and her bra, over her head. She ached for his touch, grabbing at his clothes, his body jerking back and opting to rip them off himself. His toned, bare chest was on display, complete with small bite marks on his shoulders from their prior week in the cabin. Her pants didn’t stand a chance as he jerked her body up to pull them off as fast as possible. At least able to comprehend his claws wouldn’t be much help right now, Sasuke opted to move his head down to meet her newly exposed sex, running his tongue up the soaked slit. She shuddered, quickly falling apart as his tongue teased the sensitive little nub, tracing small circles around it. Her hands reached out, unconsciously, towards his hair, immediately stopping his tasting.

Sasuke seemed to have enough of her movements as he pulled back, turning to a drawer in the nightstand nearby and digging through its contents. Sakura didn't know what to say or do as she watched the aggressive man pull something out to solve his dilemma. He slammed the drawer shut, hovering over her body once again with something black twisted in his fist. His face lowered, lips grazing hers but not quite allowing the pleasure of touching. Fully entranced by his feather light kisses, she failed to notice, until it was too late, the slick fabric wrapped firmly around her wrists above her head. Sasuke had another strip that he used to tie her already-tied hands to the frame of the bed towards the wall. She tried to wiggle her arms out, but nothing worked. 

Looking at the hungry man hovering above her, there was nowhere to hide. His eyes were engulfed in a red glow, harsh pants and low groans the only words he spoke. Her body quivered, passion bursting to the surface as she was at the mercy of his wishes. Sakura could feel his tongue return to her sex, darting between her folds to savour her sweet juices. His husky growls grew louder, the vibrations from deep in his chest better than any vibrator she had tried against her clit. He must have known, as his sounds continued until they were pushing her over the edge into bliss, screaming out his name as her climax hit hard.

His tongue dragged through her drenched folds, enjoying every drop he could taste from her pussy. Her body couldn't stop mulling from his touch, cries escaping her throat as she tried to recover from her orgasm, but his tongue was too much for her overly-stimulated body. His hands moved up her body, sliding along the sweat covering her frame, until a hand reached the fabric tying her down. Instead of letting her free, he twisted the ties and flipped her body over, pulling her up by the hips so she was on all fours. The distinct sound of a zipper cut through the air, her body shaking as she anticipated his next move.

Without wasting any time, he plunged deep into her sex, not giving her a chance to rest. She cried out in ecstasy, feeling herself stretch to accommodate his large shaft, but not before he started to hammer into her. The pace was ruthless, only his arms keeping her upright as she felt the strength behind every thrust when he slammed his hips against her ass. Her clit was too sore from her earlier orgasm, and was only amplified by his sack slapping against it. Sasuke managed to stay upright, holding her hips firmly in place as he buried himself in her pussy to the hilt with every plunge of his rigid dick. 

"Fuck… Sasuke, yes… more…"

Her cries were more than answered, his body pumping into her as fast as he could. Sasuke couldn't take it anymore, sinking his teeth into her back to keep her in place. His mind was a haze, instinct taking over all common sense while he kept his teeth locked in her. Sakura was too drunk from his needy touch and rapid thrusts, her body feeling like she was being ripped in two, to notice any pain from his bite. Her body might have been tied in place, but her upper body lost the will to remain upright as he pushed her further and further into the mattress while he continued to ravage her pussy. His teeth let go, a few final, harsh, jerking, pumps from tip to hilt breaking his restraint and letting a loud howl escape his lips. 

Sakura went limp, her body falling to the mattress, his barely able to stay hovering over her with one arm propped up. The sound of harsh breaths continued for a minute before one of them spoke.

“Sakura…?” Sasuke whispered, pulling himself out of her sex so he could lean over to her side. She stayed quiet, his fingers lifting her soft hair away from her face. Her face was exhausted, taking slow and rhythmic breaths.

_She passed out._

Sasuke rolled onto his back, running his hands through the messy dark hair adorning his head, resting his palms on his forehead. “What the fuck is wrong with me…” He groaned, his tongue tasting the sweet metallic tang left behind on them. His eyes widened, sitting up to see her back as she slept peacefully. 

“Fuck.” 

The mark was deep. His teeth had nearly extended to their wolf size when he fucked her. It was a small miracle that the bite wasn’t any worse. He jumped off the bed to grab his first aid kit from the bathroom. After fumbling around for a few minutes under the sink, he returned with a small red box. He pulled out some gauze and cleaning wipes, hoping she wouldn’t wake up from the sting. Ripping open the supplies, he went straight to cleaning the bite, wiping off the blood and applying an ointment. _Mouths are the dirtiest things…_ Sasuke grabbed some gauze that looked about the right size, taping it down with some medical tape he found under the sink. It had been awhile since he had done anything like this.

Her body twitched as he was finishing up the bandage, her eyes fluttering open from the stinging sensation on her shoulder blade. Sakura turned her head to see Sasuke sitting next to her, no clothes to be seen on his handsome body, his brow furrowed as his leaned over her back. She felt a small sting, but wasn’t sure what he was doing. His eyes noticed hers, a sigh escaping his mouth.

“I’m sorry… again.”

Before she could ask why, Sakura noticed the red staining his lips - knowing full well that she wasn’t wearing lipstick during their act. “Your teeth?”

He nodded putting some excess bandages back in a small red box. 

“It was a deep one. I did the best I could for now, but it’s probably not that great…” Sasuke could admit that anything medical wasn’t his speciality. Sakura giggled, slowly sitting up and wincing from her spent muscles. Sasuke offered a hand as she sat fully up on the bed. Her hand reached to her back, feeling the loose bandage. 

“Is this normal… you know the biting?”

Sasuke was quiet for a few seconds before answering. “I don’t know.”

Her eyebrow raised. “Really?”

“Look, I admitted already I hadn’t slept with anyone until a week ago when it was with you. I don’t know if this is normal,” Sasuke gruffly said, arms crossing over his chest. “Sorry, I’m just a little aggravated with myself. My head is a mess.”

“Yeah… I felt like I was drunk or something… That was intense.”

That got his attention.

“You felt it too?” He was surprised that she noticed something was off. Sakura was human, so he figured it wasn’t something she would notice.

“I guess… It was weird. Like the second we started kissing in the hallway, that was it. I felt like I had one too many drinks and… well it was like I was floating. I didn’t even feel the bite…” she looked at his eyes, concern highlighted in them.

He didn’t like what he knew they had to do next.

“You remember Tsunade?”

She tilted her head. “You mean Tsunade as in the town doctor when we were growing up? I haven’t seen her in ages.”

“Yeah, well, she is our doctor too. She deals with werewolf issues since there are so many of us in this town,” he sighed. “I know you guys were close.”

She nodded, a small smile. “She’s the whole reason I wanted to study medicine. I didn’t go the doctor route like she did, but I learned a lot from her when we were younger.”

Sasuke stood up, walking to the attached bathroom to put away the medicinal supplies. “Let’s head over to her office after we clean up.”

“You don’t seem happy about it.” 

A scowl covered the Uchiha’s face when he walked back into the bedroom.

“I’m about to ask my girlfriend’s teacher-figure why I lose control during sex. You see my dilemma?” Sasuke rolled his eyes, turning to open a drawer and shuffle through to find some clothes.

Sakura sighed. She understood. 

“I’m not exactly comfortable talking to her about this stuff, but she’ll understand since it’s her profession, right?” 

Sasuke turned his head, raising an eyebrow as he held a pair of boxers in one hand. “You don’t seem very sure about it.”

“Let’s just get ready, wolf boy.”

. . .


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When his father disappeared out of view, Sasuke felt a cold chill run up his spine. It caught him completely off guard, his head quickly snapping to look towards the hallway that lead to the front door. Sakura’s hand gently rubbed his thigh, normally a very soothing gesture, but not enough to shake off this uncomfortable wave that hit him. He could feel his blood pressure rising, pain spreading through his face as it begged him to change into the wolf that was clamoring to be free. He hadn’t felt this confined, anxious, irritated, since…  
>  _Oh shit._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes at the end, because spoilers :)  
> Thanks <3
> 
> _It seems no matter where I look, it's always gone_   
>  _With you, I know I'll never win_

. . .

“When did this start?” 

Tsunade sat in the corner of her office, tapping a pen against the messy, overflowing, desk where her patients' clipboards rested. She wasn’t exactly  _ pleased _ after Sakura explained what was going on between herself and Sasuke. When they first walked into her clinic, she was ecstatic to see her dear student, exchanging hugs and chatting away about school. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Sasuke standing awkwardly to the side, giving them space, but silently dreading what was to come. 

Sasuke was right, as Tsunade had both of them sit in her private office to discuss what was going on. She told them fill out the normal forms, both noting and writing down what she had expected when they awkwardly walked behind her into the cramped office. She sighed, her hand massaging the pressure in her forehead, she assumed just a symptom of stress.

Sasuke was stiff, trying to maintain eye contact with the doctor, but it was incredibly awkward for him as well as the flushed pinkette sitting next to him. 

“I thought the biting was just part of being in heat, but my heat ended. At least I thought it did until I bit her again,” he sighed. This was a necessary conversation but he would rather deal with his brother right now, than look at a mother-figure to Sakura and basically say  _ yes I fucked your dear student and I might have taken some rather large bites out of her body _ .  _ Sorry about that! _

“So, from what I see,” Tsunade flipped through one of the clipboards on her desk, “You have never dealt with your heat before?”

_ People, stop asking me this. _ “Yes.”

“Hmmm,” Tsunade hummed as she looked through some more paperwork, “you wrote down that you have been having some incidents of memory loss. Tell me more about that.”

“When I’m,” his mouth felt very dry, “aroused, it’s like someone else is taking over. I guess instinct or something like that, and it’s like my body is on auto-pilot with me along for the ride. I’m sort of aware. I don’t remember the exact details, but I realized what I did during sex after it was over…”

Tsunade turned her attention to Sakura.

“You are obviously aware of the fact he’s a werewolf,” Tsunade reached out to her former pupil, a hand resting on her leg, “has the Uchiha done anything to you, that you didn’t want to do?” 

His head pounded, anger bubbling to the surface, not able to contain his thoughts. “What the fuck are you trying to say Tsunade?" The anger filling his head was making him jump to even further conclusions, rational thoughts leaving completely. "I would never hurt... or rape her!”

The boiling temper brought out the wolf in him. His teeth were back to their long points accompanied by glowing red eyes that even struck some fear inside Sakura. She had never seen him this… scary. The normally fine hairs on his arms were much darker, fingernails long and resembling claws. He was so close to fully shifting it physically hurt being in between his two forms.

“That’s what I wanted to see.” Tsunade smirked looking over his features, standing up to feel his changed bone structure through his t-shirt. “You shift quick for someone who isn’t in heat. A little... too quickly.”

Sakura sat still, eyes wide as she traced her green gaze over his body. It was the closest she had seen him resembling a wolf. Even his face had become more angular, the very bones underneath the skin changing shape to match his intense frustration. She was surprised Tsunade pushed his buttons that far, also appalled by the insinuation that Sasuke would purposefully hurt her to some extreme. The normally onyx eyes that could stay cool and collected had changed into red orbs filled with rage. When he was in heat the prior week, his eyes tended to stay a beautiful golden hue, but this red was a newer phenomenon - at least since this morning. 

“How do you feel, Sasuke?” Tsunade asked, picking up her pen and clipboard to jot down some notes as she tried to talk to the emotional man. 

“Fucking pissed off.”

She sighed. “I got that, most of you get like this, but you’re pretty extreme right now. Your normally very calm when I see you in town. From what I can tell,” she looked over his hands, fearsome claws adorning his fingers, “you’re very on edge since you’ve spent time with Sakura.” Her face seemed surprised after doing some further reading.

“Wait, that’s right, you are only half…” she looked puzzled. “Even full wolves don’t react this fast. Sorry, it’s been so long since I’ve personally seen you that I nearly forgot. Regarding family history, do you know of any unusual traits from the werewolf members of your family?”

Sasuke took deep breaths to calm himself before speaking.

“My brother is mostly human. He didn’t inherit much werewolf blood, mainly just the sense of smell and heat, doesn’t shift or anything like that. My father,” his nose scrunched up, “is very protective of my mother.”

Tsunade nodded, “I’m not an expert on human-wolf hybrids, so I’ll call over someone else to the room, if that’s okay with both of you?”

Sakura curtly nodded, Sasuke only answering with a “Hn.”

Tsunade pulled her phone out, quickly texting someone as they all sat in her office. “He’ll be here soon enough…”

As soon as she finished her words, an unusual figure threw open the office door. He had long black hair that fell mid back, an unassuming pair of scrubs on as an unusual gold pair of eyes laid on the group. The strange man looked a little too excited to be in the office. Tsunade spoke up.

“Orochimaru this is the human-wolf hybrid I mentioned,” pointing to Sasuke, “he’s having some symptoms that are atypical for a male outside of heat. I’m not quite sure if him being half-human is interfering in some way.”

The new slender man,  _ Orochimaru _ , walked closer to Sasuke’s standing, partially shifted form. He seemed intrigued as he walked around the Uchiha’s figure.

“Definitely very werewolf though,” Orochimaru held the strangest smile on his face, “I’m guessing there’s a large influx of hormones at work here. It would explain sudden lapses in memory if they are firing up the receptors in his brain. Anyone would be overwhelmed if their dopamine levels suddenly spiked abnormally. Doesn’t help if he hasn’t had much experience.”

Sasuke silently fumed. He hated the look on the man’s face who walked around him. It bothered him more than it should have.

“Makes sense. But why the sudden spikes?” Tsunade asked, leaning back in her office chair. “Also Sakura wrote down that she was experiencing some strange effects as well. Nowhere near as extreme as the Uchiha’s though.”

Orochimaru stopped pacing, opting to return closer to Tsunade’s side, leaning against the wall next to her desk. The smile on his face flattened into a line.

“Might be an exchange of fluids spreading the hormones to her. It would induce a drug like state if she also experienced a similar spike.”

Sakura flushed, a reflex since she was fully aware of all matters anatomical. She studied nursing and biology, after all. Her body seemed to have a mind of its own around Sasuke.

“I would recommend a blood and saliva sample for further study, but that’s my thoughts for now,” the mysterious man made his exit as fast as he entered, quickly leaving the office.

Tsunade frowned. 

“He’s such a fucking weirdo, but he is very informed on hybrid anatomy.” She pulled out small tubes, handing one to each of the two young adults in the room. “Spit enough to reach the fill line in these tubes. I’ll also do some quick blood draws to check hormone levels for both of you. So can you roll up your sleeves when you’re done…”

. . .

Sakura sat on the sofa, rubbing the bandage on her inner elbow that slightly itched from the rather  _ copious _ amount of blood drawn - thanks to her old mentor. The itch was bothersome, but she tried to ignore it as the television droned on about the news of the day.  _ It’s nice to have a moment to breathe.  _ Her thoughts were interrupted by Sasuke sneaking up behind her, a cup of hot cocoa in hand in a pastel pink mug.

“I’m surprised you have a pink cup in this dark home,” she joked, gladly taking the warm beverage as he rolled his eyes. “Just messing with you, wolf boy.”

She enjoyed when his eyebrows would knit together, the way his face would scrunch up when he wanted to bite back, but she knew he wouldn't around her.  _ He never did, even when we were kids. _ As he sauntered back to the kitchen, she turned her head enough to watch how his ass molded into the tight pair of gray pants he wore. For someone so lean, she was always surprised he had such a nice backside to watch when he walked away. Her brain stopped, body flinching, recalling his information from earlier. _ He can smell me. Shit! _

Almost like he was reading her thoughts, Sasuke’s head poked out of the kitchen, a smirk adorning his face.

“I’m pretty sure I already mentioned I can smell you when you get aroused,” the smirk grew into a sly, devious smile, “and I can definitely smell it now.”

As she wanted to crack another joke to throw him off balance, their conversation was halted by his cell phone ringing. He always looked pissed when it rang, which was more often than you would think for someone who liked to remain so private. When Sasuke saw who was calling, there was a pause before he finally answered. Judging by the stoic look on his face, it couldn’t have been Naruto.

“Yes?” His face was stern, some emotions being pushed deep beneath his expressionless facade. A slight nod followed a few seconds later.

“Today? I... Understood. We will be there.”

Sasuke hung up, a dreadful look on his face. He shoved the phone in his pocket before sitting down on the sofa next to Sakura. She noticed the sudden heaviness in his face, and knew something was off.

“Sasuke? What’s wrong?”

The firm line on his face down turned into a scowl.

“My family already wants to meet for dinner. Seems that Itachi said something to my father about our arrangement…” he quickly spoke, an uneasy anger threatening to bubble to the surface as his words flowed.

“Are they upset? Does it have to do with me being human?”

He chuckled, but there was nothing happy or funny in his eyes.

“If that was it, they would be hypocrites since my mother is human, but no I don’t believe so. I think it’s more of a tradition for them. Our clan is old and huge, and there are certain things they like to keep going.” Sasuke rolled his eyes, “even when I think they are completely unnecessary.”

She nodded, not wanting to pry too much. 

“Besides that,” Sasuke leaned back into the plush surface, crossing a leg over his knee, “I guess you’ll get to see my family again.”

Sakura pondered that. “Yeah… It’s been so long since I have seen them. Your mom was always really kind to us when all three of us would go to your house.”

He smiled, a small tug at each corner of his lips. She would never get tired of his expressions, and how sincere Sasuke could be with her. He was never the most talkative or engaging with strangers, but when he did speak it was always something worth saying. Only a mere week ago, she never would have thought this situation would be happening. Every time she thought about how well things were going, a sobering thought would enter her mind just as quickly. 

Sasuke noticed. “What’s up?”

She shook her head. “Just thinking…”

He reached out, an arm wrapping around her waist and pulling her closer to his warm body on the sofa. She managed to carefully hold her mug during the movement, green eyes looking up and meeting onyx. She couldn’t make out the expression on his face.

“Well I don’t like it when you seem so… sad,” he raised a finger, gently stroking her cheek. “You’re thinking about when you go home, right?”

She returned looking forward, his finger still grazing across her soft cheek.

“I can’t help it. I’ll have to go home eventually. I can’t just stay here…” 

Sasuke pulled her chin to force her eyes to look into his.

“I wouldn’t tell you what to do, but what’s keeping you where you live now?”

Sakura took a second to think about home. She graduated. She was currently looking for a job. It was pretty mundane, simple, everything she did following a standard routine. What was there to return to? Life certainly wasn’t very exciting back home. A kiss on her forehead snapped her thoughts back to the present.

“Unless you have someone waiting for you back home…” Sasuke’s eyes seemed to glow as the words escaped his lips. An ominous shade of red swirling within ebony depths. “I would somehow doubt that at this point.”

The words had a venomous undertone, something angry creeping to the surface. Sakura could feel the energy around Sasuke drastically change at the mention of her having someone back home. The werewolf in him seemed very upset at that notion, let alone the very thought itself.

“Your eyes are red, Sasuke.”

He blinked before letting go of her face, noting how his nails had slightly extended as well. Sakura could see the confusion on his face.

“Do you normally change this much? Like your eyes and nails going werewolf, just like that?” Sakura asked, genuinely curious about the Uchiha’s state.

“Before you came back? Almost not at all. I kept it tight under wraps,” he groaned as he let out a heavy sigh. “The wolf shit was always very inconvenient for me. Nothing good ever came about it, and it was just another thing to deal with, especially when I went into heat.”

Before Sakura could answer, Sasuke grabbed her mug and put it on the end table next to his side of the couch. She wasn’t prepared as he quickly grabbed her in a tight bear hug, nuzzling his face into her soft pink locks.

“S-Sasuke? You okay?” She stuttered out, heart racing as the wolf man took a few deep breaths while his face was buried in her hair. 

“Hn. Just enjoying the smell. You smell really good.”

“You say that a lot… What do I smell like?” She smiled as a hand slid up and down her arm while she was relaxing in his embrace. 

“Like… Spring. When the flowers start to bloom, animals starting to wake up and soak up the sun. That smell I find when I go to the river front and relax in the wildflowers…” Sasuke muttered into her hair, a toothy grin covering her flushed face. She was taking in his description and trying to picture the view. It was  _ nice _ .

“That’s very descriptive. I was expecting something like… strawberries?”

He quietly chuckled, pulling his face away from her hair.

“Smells are a little more than singular objects when you can smell as much as a wolf. It’s hard to explain things with a single fruit or flower,” he replied with a small smile. He paused before opening his mouth again. “We should probably get ready for dinner.”

She looked at the small clock hanging on the wall, confused since it was still fairly early. “It’s nowhere near dinner Sasuke.”

He sighed. “Well let’s take a shower, and find some clothes. It’s going to be a small drive to their place, so we should probably leave sooner than later.”

As much as she wanted to remain in his warm embrace, Sakura broke free of his hold to stand up. “I’ll go first then. It’ll give me more time to dry my hair.”

Sasuke shot a hand out to grab her wrist, stopping her immediately in her tracks. “Why don’t we save water and take one together?”

The smirk on his face was enough to buckle her knees where she stood.

. . .

Sakura was nervous. The front of the Uchiha’s house was elegant, exposed brick and beautiful dark wood on the front facade of the large residence. Sasuke could tell her nerves were fraying as he moved to grab her hand, his thumb gently rubbing her palm for comfort. A few seconds passed after they pushed the doorbell before they were greeted by a beautiful young woman at the door. Sakura didn’t recognize the woman as she moved forward to grab Sasuke in a firm embrace, tearing their hands apart. 

“Sasuke! It feels like forever!” The woman giggled as she finally released the young man from her hold. Sasuke frowned as he brushed his hair back into place while the young woman gave Sakura a curious stare.

“You must be Sakura. My name is Izumi,” she reached a hand out, a vast contrast from her attack on Sasuke. “It’s lovely to meet the woman in my brother-in-law’s life.”

Sakura blinked before accepting Izumi’s handshake. “Oh, it’s lovely to meet you, Izumi.” Sasuke cleared his throat, interrupting the two of them.

“Dad never mentioned that you guys were gonna be here.”

Izumi smiled brightly. “Well of course we were going to be here! Itachi mentioned it and I convinced Shisui to join too. So all of us could be here to properly meet Sakura,” she paused and placed a finger to her lips in thought, “well, I suppose re-meet for your parents and Itachi.”

Sakura was surprised by the happy demeanor Izumi exuded, and how cheery her words were compared to Sasuke, who was busy frowning at the joyful woman. 

“Well come inside, your mom is almost done with dinner and we were all talking at the table,” she opened the door further to allow the two of them inside the generous home.

Sakura’s jaw was struggling not to drop as she looked around the immediate foyer. The ceiling was tall, the walls a warm shade of gray with artwork littering the halls as she looked further down the hallway. It was a drastic change from Sasuke’s modern and minimal style dwelling. They both took their boots off to leave on the shoe rack, following Izumi down the long hallway to a gorgeous dark wood table, surrounded by many members of the Uchiha family. 

Fugaku sat at the head of the table, conversing with Itachi who sat to his left until the three of them entered the dining room. Shisui sat next to Itachi, quietly drinking a glass of wine and eyeing Izumi when she walked into the area. Izumi turned to point to two chairs at the end of the table, leaving a seat in between Sasuke and Fugaku for his mother, Mikoto, who was finishing up in the kitchen. Sasuke was wary of his family’s glares, choosing to keep some of his body in front of Sakura as she made her way to her seat at the end of the table across from Izumi. 

Like clockwork, Mikoto walked into the dining area with a covered dish in her hands. Her smile was contagious, gentle and welcoming like Sakura remembered from when they were kids. When Mikoto’s eyes fell on Sakura, her smile only grew larger. She quickly deposited the dish on the table, before sitting down in her seat between her husband and Sasuke. Smiling as she called the table to her attention.

“It’s so good to have a family dinner together like this! And Sasuke brought along his guest, Sakura Haruno!” His mom was so joyful with every word she spoke that Sakura couldn’t help but lighten up a little bit in her presence. Sasuke kept a hand under the table, gentle stroking Sakura’s thigh to help calm her nerves.

Mikoto started the dishing, passing down each stone bowl full of gorgeous foods she had prepared. Sakura couldn’t remember the last time she had seen such a lovely home cooked meal, her mouth watering at the smell of the roasted chicken she delicately placed on her gray plate along the table. Once all the side dishes made their way around the table, people started to dig in before the food had a chance to cool down. After a few minutes of awkward silence, Fugaku cleared his throat.

“Sasuke.” His father had the most intimidating voice. “I hear you two spent some...  _ time _ together this past week? Itachi tells me that she knows about everyone?”

Sakura noticed the slight twitch to Sasuke’s brow. He really didn’t enjoy the topic his father was trying to bring up. Sakura wasn’t exactly comfortable with it either, since he was indirectly asking about their sex lives.  _ This is so weird.  _

“Yes. She came to town a week ago, and we spent some time together,” Sasuke tried to keep the details to a bare minimum. 

His brother looked like he was trying to suppress a smirk, while Shisui was openly smiling about the whole ordeal. Sakura wasn’t familiar with Shisui or Izumi, besides them being Itachi’s partners, and was very curious about them.  _ Are they werewolves too? _

“You mean a week in a cabin in the middle of the woods. Smells like some serious debauchery occurred." Shisui maintained his calm exterior, his words sharp and almost... funny? Izumi giggled, continuing to eat her roasted potatoes in peace.

Sasuke’s grip on her thigh grew harsher, “Shut up Shisui. Like you’re one to talk. I can bring up how you three handled heat last year at the resort…”

“Alright, no fighting!" Mikoto waved a hand in the air, “Sakura, darling, how have you been? I remember you left for school?”

Sakura nodded. “Yeah, I finished my Nursing degree this past semester and I’ve been looking at where to start working. I haven’t made my mind up on it, but it’s tempting to come back here.”

Sasuke's eyes darted to the pinkette next to him. She could feel his gaze tear into her side, knowing this was a topic they really haven’t discussed amongst themselves yet.  _ We can go over this later. _

“How lovely! It would be nice to have you back here." She gently smiled before giggling. “It’s nice to have another human around here. These wolves get so testy.”

Mikoto and Izumi both burst out laughing, Itachi smiling as his eyes rested on Izumi’s giggling face. Shisui rolled his own onyx eyes, trying to keep himself removed from the conversation, instead focusing on Sasuke’s annoyed face. Sakura wanted to know more. 

“So are you both also human? I’m sorry if that’s rude…” Sakura asked, Mikoto’s contagious smile remaining in place. 

“It’s not rude at all. It must be a lot for you to learn. I’m human, and Itachi is a werewolf but he doesn’t shift.”

That caught Sakura’s attention.  _ He doesn’t shift? But he’s a werewolf? _

Itachi shrugged. “It’s true. I have most of the other traits but I don’t physically shift. I’m probably just a little too human in that regard. I do spend a lot of time in the woods.”

“He can be just as testy as the rest of us though." Shisui smirked, his arm propped up on the table, face resting in his palm. 

“It’s fine. Werewolves get a little possessive, so I think it would be a little difficult for us to be together if he was also a full fledged werewolf,” Izumi explained, taking a sip of her dark red drink.

“So she came home and you two immediately ran off to the woods?” Shisui bluntly asked. Sakura’s face bursting into a flurry of red and pink. Sasuke interjected before she could respond.

“If you must know, it wasn’t planned but we had a  _ wonderful _ week together, Shisui. Thanks for the concern,” his voice was lowering into a hiss, morphing with his anger. Judging by how tense the two had been, Sakura wondered what exactly happened between Sasuke and Shisui for them to be so aggressive. 

The bickering stopped as everyone again delighted in the wonderful spread of food that Mikoto had prepared. Sakura mainly ate potatoes and vegetables, shying from so of the more carnivore friendly options. Eyeing how much everyone enjoyed the  _ very _ rare roast, Sakura assumed it had to be the wolf part of everyone that enjoyed their meat cooked that way. Over the next hour, friendly conversation replaced the anxious environment from earlier, a much welcome change as she saw the smallest smile grace Sasuke’s face while he spoke. 

_ Ding dong _

“Oh? I don’t remember inviting anyone else over...” Mikoto was visibly confused, turning to her husband. He shrugged, standing up and leaving the table to go to the door.

When his father disappeared out of view, Sasuke felt a cold chill run up his spine. It caught him completely off guard, his head quickly snapping to look towards the hallway that lead to the front door. Sakura’s hand gently rubbed his thigh, normally a very soothing gesture, but not enough to shake off this uncomfortable wave that hit him. He could feel his blood pressure rising, pain spreading through his face as it begged him to change into the wolf that was clamoring to be free. He hadn’t felt this confined, anxious, irritated, since…

_ Oh shit. _

Sakura heard whispers from the doorway before a low laugh echoed into the dining room, calling everyone’s attention to the man who slowly walked into the room with Fugaku. The first thing that Sakura noticed was the man’s long, unruly hair that was brushed to the side over a fine blazer and dress shirt. His eyes seemed older, small crinkles around the dark orbs with sharp eyebrows hanging over them. The corners of his lips turned to a smile, but his gaze didn’t reflect it at all. After examining their new visitor, Sakura noticed how quiet and how nervous everyone had become.  _ This isn’t good… _

“Oh, Madara! I wasn’t expecting you… I’m sorry I don’t have a plate for you,” Mikoto nervously laughed, her eyes shifting to her husband towards the end of her sentence. The mysterious Madara only kept his smile as he walked closer into the dining room. His eyes lingered on Sakura a little too long for Sasuke’s liking, his claws starting to extend as his hands were tense under the table. 

“And who would this be? She’s clearly not one of us." Madara’s eyebrow raised, reaching a hand out to Sakura from the end of the table. Sasuke was trying to hold his possessiveness in, but it was failing fast. As they shook hands, Sakura seemingly a little unnerved by the big mysterious man, Sasuke started to unravel.

“What do you want Madara?” His voice was very low, the very tone it takes on when he is partially shifted. A voice inside of Sasuke’s head couldn’t believe the tone he took on towards Madara.  _ The _ Madara. The same Madara who was in charge of their clan, their  _ pact _ . There weren't many greater signs of disrespect towards a leader than directly addressing them in such a rude way.

The older man raised an eyebrow, head turning to Fugukau who just re-entered the dining room area. Sasuke could see the nervousness in his father’s posture, obviously trying to play it safe with his older family member. The older man turned back to Sasuke, a grin crawling up his face. 

“It’s been awhile since I’ve seen you,  _ pup _ ,” Sasuke wanted to growl at the insult, but he was trying to keep calm since his parents were in the room with him. Madara’s eyes switched between himself and Sakura, studying both of them. All of Sasuke’s instincts were in overdrive, from the twitch in his fingers where his claws begged to be free to the shuddering in his spine that was eager to pop and shape into his wolf form. Eyes narrowing when he studied Sasuke, Madara didn’t seem very pleased. 

“You’ve definitely taken more of your wolf traits than young Itachi has,” Madara paused, looking to Sasuke’s parents with a flat line across his jaw. “I thought I would stop by your household Fugaku to see how the young are doing, but I must be on my way.”

Sasuke didn’t miss the anger in the older man’s tone, it was subtle but enough was there to crawl up Sasuke’s spine. There was malice lacing every word he spoke, ever the conniving wolf that Sasuke remembered. The second Madara was once again out of sight, relief flushed through his body. Sakura noticed, giving her lover a small smile in return. They had to make it through the rest of dinner in peace, before Sasuke howled, grabbed Sakura, and ran home.

. . .

_That boy._ ** _That_** **_insolent_** **_pup_** _._ Madara walked out to his car after exchanging some pleasantries with Fugaku. Something… _unusual_ , creeped into his bones. Madara couldn’t remember the last time he felt so out of sorts. The way that Sasuke dared to stand up to him rubbed him the wrong way. 

_ Unless… No way. He’s only half. _

The older man bit down on his lip, thinking over all the possible scenarios in his head - looking for something that could replace what his instincts were screaming at him. As he sat in the small, luxurious, vehicle, nothing came to mind that could explain the chill in his bones, the heat in his skin, the ache in his jaw.  _ I’m no pup who cannot manage their natural urges… Nature wants me to be angry. Assert myself against this damn  _ **_child_ ** _.  _ He pressed the "start engine" button next to the steering wheel, buckling himself in before giving the house one last look, reversing out of the driveway.

Once he moved on to the main road, his long fingers pressed a button on the steering wheel, prompting the system to ask for a phone number. When he finished the number, it only took one beep for the person on the other end to answer. 

“Sir, what do you need?” a male voice asked, young and seemingly weary.

Madara clenched his teeth before taking a deep breath. The red glow that was threatening to take over his irises started to recede back into his skull. He felt calm enough to speak.

“We have a problem. Fugaku hasn’t told the full story on his sons.”

There was a pause before the voice on the other end answered. 

“What sort of information did he leave out?”

Turning the car onto the highway, he slammed the gas full force towards the airport. Car screeching from its abrupt burnout onto the open pavement.

“His first born is no problem, mostly human apparently since he doesn’t shift to fur. The younger one is... concerning.” Madara went over the details of the young man in his head. The rage in his eyes, the domineering posture he took when Madara came close to his woman. Things were adding up in a way he didn’t like. Before the voice on the other end could answer back, he interjected.

“The damn pup is an alpha. I can feel it. There was aggression all over that child’s body. His father might not have been an alpha, but he certainly is,” Madara nearly hissed the words out. “This needs to be taken care of, and soon. Do you understand?”

“Yes, my leader.” 

“Good,” Madara spoke, pleased with the man’s answer. “I need you to do something for me while I think of a plan to deal with this impending disaster… Watch the woman he’s with.”

“The younger son’s woman?”

“Yes. The pink-haired one. Track her, gather information, and report back to me when you find something useful. She seems to be the soft spot for him. Besides…” Madara grabbed a small package from his center console, briefly letting go of the steering wheel while maintaining eye contact with the road his car zoomed across. Pulling a single cigarette from the package, quickly flicking it to life with a lighter stashed in his jacket pocket, he took a long drag before finishing his statement.

“He wasn’t brought up to be an alpha. The  **pup** doesn’t know how important that bond is for him, so it’s our chance to break him before it’s too late.”

. . .

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked the introduction of good ole Madara ;) I don't want to explain too much of what is going on here, but I hope the story seems like something is coming together! I'm hoping to bring back some more character conversations and smut next chapter. Sometimes (not always!) plot progression takes away from the smut LOL Thanks for reading so far <3 xoxo


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Out of all the fucking times for my body to throw a fit like this._ He peered around the corner of the kitchen to see if she had left the bathroom yet. Not hearing or seeing anything to indicate that, he moved back into the kitchen and took a few more deep breaths. _I don’t want her to see me like that… Not yet at least._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _I need relief, this weakness carries on_   
>  _Please, be a dream, or was it all along?_
> 
> Notes at the end <3

. . .

"What if I didn't go home?"

Sasuke felt his ears poke up from her statement, breaking the silence in the car. They decided to leave not too long after Madara's interruption, the mood soiled by the older man's arrival. It was frustrating trying to control all the conflicting emotions that ran through himself. A handshake nearly set him off - a new low for what remained of his calm, collected, personality. He didn't even remember feeling this irritated when they were teenagers.  _ Back then I was just horny all the time… I guess that didn't really change with age.  _

They walked into his home, Luna greeting them by the door with excited barks. Sakura smiled as she watched her lover play with his loyal,  _ and incredibly adorable,  _ dog. Sasuke hadn’t immediately answered her idea, instead opting to let Luna outside into the backyard. When he walked back over to her, Sakura left her boots and jacket by the door, letting out a sigh before embracing her. She felt the warmth radiating from his body while she idled in his arms, enjoying the ever-earthy smell he emitted.

“I… can’t tell you how to live your life Sakura.” He pulled back, eyes focused on her gentle face, keeping her within his grasp - onyx eyes serious as ever. “If you stay, you could live with me and Luna. She seems to like you quite a bit.”

His tone changed, a chuckle escaping, but Sakura knew he was hiding a little bit of sadness under that lovely sound. She was having trouble admitting it to herself, having spent barely over a week together since they reunited, but she wanted to stay. She wanted to take him up on his offer, stay in his home with himself and Luna - but what of her current life? Her family left the area when she did, so there wasn’t any family here waiting for her. 

_ I want to stay.  _

_ Is that selfish?  _

_ I would need a job. The town is so small, so I don’t know what there would be available for me to do.  _

“Would you like a shower? I can make us something to eat while you’re in there. I have some things here I could defrost for some late night snacking,” he suggested, pointing down the hall towards the bathroom. Sakura smiled, offering a nod before turning to the hallway.

When she pushed open the door to the bathroom, she looked over the small space, towels folded neatly on a shelf next to the stand-up shower. It was a little smaller than the shower in the master bathroom, but it seemed to be his guest bathroom after all. She popped open the door, turned the faucet, and backed out to let the water warm up. Slowly peeling her shirt off, she let her eyes linger on the mirror, at her reflection for a few seconds. The marks on her shoulders were obvious, thankful Tsunade didn’t ask to do a full-body physical as she gazed at the small bruises littering her body. She wrestled her arm around her back to pull off the bandage that Sasuke had originally applied from their earlier… incident. She decided to leave it on when they went to dinner, but it needed to go. After trying to tug at the corners for a few seconds, she opted to tear the thing off in one swift motion. 

She whispered out obscenities, so he wouldn’t hear her from the other room, but it seemed for naught as the bathroom door flung open.

“What’s wrong?” His eyes were golden, the unusual color swirling in his irises as he searched the small space, breathing harshly as he examined her form. Not immediately seeing anything, his face turned to a frown.

“Sorry,” Sakura nervously laughed, waving her hands in front of her face, “It just stung like hell when I yanked my bandage off. I was going to clean it up since it should be closed up by now…”

Sasuke’s face was solemn, pain in his eyes as he listened to her words. 

“I’m really sorry, Sakura.”

“Sasuke…” she whispered before her cheeks flushed when she realized her predicament. She was standing without a shirt on. “I, ummm... I’m gonna take a shower now.”

He blinked before realizing what she was  _ saying _ without explicitly saying it..

“Oh. We’ve seen each other plenty of times naked at this point,” he quietly chuckled, before paws pattered down the hallway towards them.

“Bark!” Luna made her presence known as she pushed back the Uchiha to make her way over to Sakura. The fluffy white beast stared up at the pinkette, her head above Sakura’s knees. She reached down to pet the adorable creature, Sasuke sighing at the exchange.

“I think she already likes you more than me.” Sasuke shrugged, crossing his arms with a defeated smile. “I’m gonna make us a small meal, since we both didn’t eat much at my parents’ place. Luna.”

The white dog turned her head to stare at Sasuke. With a shrug of his shoulder, Luna turned and followed him as they made their way down the hallway. Sakura smiled as she watched the two leave, closing the door so she could fully undress and shower. After discarding the rest of her clothes, she opened the shower door and slipped inside the warm space.

The second the water hit her skin, it was heavenly. After a long, and tumultuous, day, Sakura was more than excited to have some peace and quiet to herself. She grabbed a small bottle of body wash, lathering it across her petite frame before stepping back into the steaming water. The bubbles quickly washed away, leaving their fragrance behind on her skin. All the soaps in Sasuke’s house had an earthy aroma, but she assumed that it was his favourite smell,  _ or maybe it’s one that he can tolerate with that strong sense of smell he has. _

Sakura sat on the small seat built into the shower, letting the water run over her body and soak up all the heat it offered her. She had so many thoughts running through her head surrounding her short trip home since last week. It started with Naruto greeting her at the airport, but quickly tumbled into a full on relationship with Sasuke Uchiha. The same boy who she fell for before she even understood what she was feeling. He was also the same boy who she thought didn’t even want to be around her.  _ Turns out we both had it bad for each other.  _ Thinking back to their first encounter in the cabin, it was hard to believe what had even happened.

In one week, she learned that werewolves were real, the man she loved was one of them, and he didn’t want anyone but her.  _ Izumi mentioned werewolves are possessive creatures. It would explain a lot of Sasuke’s behavior today.  _ She heaved out a sigh, closing her eyes as the water poured down on her delicate skin. The short amount of time they had spent together was enough to convince her of what she really wanted. 

_ I want to stay here. With Sasuke. _

_ Am I making a bad decision?  _

_ Is this too fast?  _

She thought back to one week ago, when he finally professed his love to her, the amount of times they made love in the little cabin in the forest, and waking up to his face every morning while they were there. Sakura didn’t want that feeling to end. She especially didn’t want to return home where nothing awaited her in that lonely apartment. Her parents had nearly begged her to move when they saw how she lived. 

_ Sakura, sweetie, no one should live somewhere so depressing. Why not come home while you figure out what you wanna do? _

It was a complicated thing for Sakura. She didn’t want to depend on others, but she also hated how lonely this independence had been. When she left for college, she didn’t realize how much she left behind besides her parents. She left behind her friends, especially with how close she had been to Naruto and Sasuke. It did help to text Naruto on a semi-regular basis, but her thoughts would always drift to the quiet raven haired boy who filled most of her youth. 

A silhouette, topped with a short fluff of pink hair, entered her mind. The petite woman sat on a bench, phone in hand, scrolling and looking at all the happy images she posted on social media. As the memory of herself let her eyes gaze at all of these misleading photos of her college days, tears filled Sakura’s eyes. There was no denying the deep sadness that filled her, seeping out of her green eyes under the cooling water of the shower. 

She was thankful that Sasuke wasn’t there.

. . .

After adding the curry roux and water, Sasuke leaned back against the counter to watch his quick meal come to life. The scent of mild curry filled the kitchen, one of his preferred meal choices. From what he could remember, Sakura was a fan of the dish that he used to bring with him to school when they used to all eat together. Luna approved of the dish, her nose searching the air around the stovetop for the delicious meal. He chuckled at the white haired beast, her eyes darting to Sasuke’s.

“You can’t have this.” He leaned down to pet her, his hand working through her thick fur with ease. “Last time you shit all over the place… Still not quite sure what that was about.”

Luna tilted her head, seemingly understanding the general feeling of her owner’s words. She was a smart dog, and Sasuke always felt like they had a strong connection. He was always good with dogs though. His family had one when he was a kid, and it followed him everywhere he went. Luna was no different. She would follow his every word without question, making it very easy to train her as a puppy.

When the roux fully dissolved into the water mixture, he lifted the lid to stir the contents of the pot. Sasuke opted for some more vegetables in the curry than he would normally prepare, sliced carrots, onions, scallions, mushrooms, and some added diced potatoes. The rice pot had already finished, just keeping itself warm until he was done with the curry. 

Sakura’s earlier remark was caught in his mind.  _ It’s not my place to tell her to stay. Of course I fucking want her to, but I can’t make her stay. The fact she’s asking does look good though… right?  _ He sighed, moving to open the fridge nearby. Sasuke pulled out a dark beer, quickly twisting the cap off in one swift motion.  _ Werewolf strength has the strangest benefits at times.  _ Taking a long sip of the strong drink, he then placed it on the counter next to his cell phone. The time on his screen was later than he thought. 

_Is Sakura alright?_ _It’s been a while since she got in the shower._

He left the kitchen, walking down the hallway to the bathroom before a sound hit his ears.  _ Is she… crying?  _ Before he pushed the door open, he could hear her whispering. “Pull yourself together Sakura… It’s not the time to be sad like this. You’re finally with Sasuke and everything is good. You’re home, not in that depressing apartment.” Listening to her pained sobs and words was striking something inside of him. Like a reflex, his body hurt, muscles strained and heart racing. He was on edge from hearing her pain. The water turned off, Sasuke scurrying back to the kitchen before Sakura noticed he was listening to her monologue. 

He quietly sprinted back, Luna caught off guard by his quick movements and choosing to move away from her owner. His heart was racing, breathing a little erratic, but it wasn’t from his hasty retreat.  _ I’m getting all worked up. Fucking wolf, calm down… She’s fine. She’s not hurt. Not right now. Everything’s fine.  _ He looked down to his hands, palms sweaty and fingernails elongated. The hair on his arms was a little longer than normal, and his eyes felt hazy. Unlike previous times this feeling hit, the sound of Sakura crying caused a visceral reaction in his core.  _ I need to shift. I  _ **_need_ ** _ to. Breath. Just breath.  _ He took a few seconds to collect his thoughts, noticing that his features weren’t returning to normal as quickly as he would have liked. 

_ Out of all the fucking times for my body to throw a fit like this.  _ He peered around the corner of the kitchen to see if she had left the bathroom yet. Not hearing or seeing anything to indicate that, he moved back into the kitchen and took a few more deep breaths.  _ I don’t want her to see me like that… Not yet at least. _

“Hey Sakura,” he called out loud enough for her to hear him from the other room. “Food’s pretty much done, but I gotta let Luna out again real quick. I’ll be back inside in a minute, so… take your time.”  _ That should work. _

“That’s fine! I’ll be over here!” She called back, Sasuke nodding as he opened the backdoor for Luna to go outside with him. Luna didn’t seem too interested in going outside, but one growl from Sasuke was enough for her to get the point. 

The second the cool air hit him outside, some of the pain receded. The ground was cold, his house shoes doing little to shield his toes from the frozen grass as he took steps towards the wood line. Luna stayed close to the door, watching her master with a slight tilt of her head. When it looked like no one could see him behind a few of the trees, Sasuke pulled his shirt off and threw it in his pants pocket. Almost immediately, his spine popped in several places, a grotesque cracking noise filling the quiet, frigid, evening. As his fur began to fill in, dark, ebony tufts filling in along his normally hairless skin, Sasuke quickly pulled his sweatpants and briefs off, kicking off his house shoes, before he ripped them while shifting. The searing pain in his fingers shot up his arms when they popped and relocated into their shifted positions. Shifting was always painful, but it was especially painful when he did it this fast. 

His mouth had elongated to more of a muzzle, human teeth morphing into that of a large wolf. Normally almond shaped eyes had stretched into extremely slanted golden orbs set in rings of black. When his body settled, the various pops and cracks of his bones stopping, his throat itched to release a long-stored howl into the frozen woods behind his home. As much as that primal urge hurt his body, Sasuke refused out of worry that Sakura would look outside to see what the source of the noise was. The giant paws replacing his hands fell onto the snow, barely feeling the cold compared to his human skin. It felt good to arch his back, thinking about how long it had been since he shifted completely. 

_ I forgot how good it felt to stretch every once in awhile.  _

Making the most of the form, he gazed at Luna in the distance, remaining by the door with her wide eyes staring him down. Letting a low growl escape, commanding his dog to his side, they went for a walk through the woods.

. . .

Feeling refreshed, Sakura walked by the kitchen, letting the welcoming aroma fill her senses. Curious, she walked over to see what Sasuke had prepped for them. Lifting the lid, curry greeted her with a menagerie of vegetables mixed in to the delicious smelling sauce. Temptation hit her to try a small taste, but she placed the lid back on the dish so she could wait just a few more minutes until dinner. Some of the lingering feelings from the shower were still in her head, taking a deep sigh before plopping down on the sofa in Sasuke’s living room.

Remembering she brought her phone with her, she pulled out the pink-covered device to see what was going on. 

**_1 snap from Hinata_ **

Sakura quickly opened the message to see what Hinata had sent her. A picture of the violet haired woman smiling in the foreground, with Naruto in the background, appeared with the caption,  **_Look at him. He’s so fixated on that new game he doesn’t know I keep making faces over here! XD_ ** Sakura couldn’t help the giggle that escaped her lips. She enjoyed Hinata’s playfulness, and her cute comments about Naruto. She quickly typed up a message back, taking a selfie of herself while laying on Sasuke’s couch.

**Sasuke has a really nice place. Not sure about how cold it is here. I forgot how bad I was with it! lol**

Almost immediately to Sakura’s surprise, Hinata had answered back with just text this time.  **_I know we didn’t really get to talk the other day and I have so much to ask! But first, how are you doing? Is Sasuke being good? ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ_ **

**We really didn’t! I’m good. We had dinner with Sasuke’s family… which was kinda intimidating LOL I forgot how formal they are. And yes, Sasuke is being ‘good’.** She paused before adding on to that message.  **Is he normally not?**

**_He’s just been so quiet since everyone finished high school. Naruto mentioned how he could be so distant when he wasn’t forced to come over or hangout._ **

That wasn’t exactly news to her. Sasuke was always the quiet one amongst the group.  **He seems the same to me, but I wasn’t expecting us to hit it off when I came to visit. When we first, you know, he said that he liked me for awhile but I just didn’t see it. He never seemed interested in me.**

**_WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT???_ ** Sakura nearly jumped from Hinata’s sudden response in all caps. The quiet girl never yelled, but she could get it across via text.  **_When you left he seemed a little… sad? It wasn’t his normal quiet self, it was more like Sasuke just getting by._ **

_ Oh shit. Don’t cry.  _ **I just couldn’t see how the most popular boy in this town liked… me? A pink-haired girl that couldn’t stand the cold, and was from a family that wasn’t from here. Does that make sense?** Sakura snuggled against the warm blanket that Sasuke left on his couch. She curled into a ball as she held her phone close, waiting for Hinata to answer.

**_Oh Sakura. You’re so pretty and he’s so hung up on you. Since Naruto said we should avoid his house for awhile, I’m only assuming that Sasuke warned him against interfering while you were here ( ͡°з ͡°)( ͡°Ɛ ͡°)_ **

Sakura blushed, thinking of what Hinata was suggesting. As soon as her fingers were about to answer, the back door swung open to reveal Sasuke standing there in the opening with Luna running around him to go inside. He was panting, face red from the cold, or from breathing so hard, and tinge of gold inside of his onyx eyes. She almost forgot what she was doing as she admired his muscular frame standing in the doorway. He closed the door behind him, eyes not moving from the pinkette sitting in the living room. 

His eyes traced the spots of bare skin that he could see peeking out from the blanket she hid underneath. Her hair was still damp, wet waves sticking to her face as her green eyes lingered on him. When he moved closer, he could feel his libido kicking in from shifting just moments ago.  _ Stop. Stop. Stop. Some food first.  _

“You up for some curry? I figured it would be something we could eat a little bit now, and save the rest for lunch tomorrow?” Sasuke asked, pointing towards the kitchen. Sakura offered a small nod as she stood up from the couch. 

When the blanket fell down, he noticed how little clothing she was wearing right now. The tank top she had on didn’t even reach down to her belly button, the hem gliding just above it. Her slim legs were in plain view from how little her shorts covered, the red cotton contrasting with her milky thighs. Before any more suggestions came into his head, Sasuke retreated to the kitchen and kept his eyes off of his lover’s body. He grabbed a couple of bowls from the cabinet before a small hand stopped him in his tracks. 

Sakura was feeling brave. Her mind was in a strange place. Some feelings from when she was in the shower, sadness and loneliness, were mixing with the sudden need she felt in her core from seeing his frame stick to the thin clothes he wore outside in the frigid cold. Sasuke pulled his hand back, closing the cabinet as he turned his body to face the woman who was pushing closer against his body. His mind was starting to fall back to the wayside as he inhaled her delicious scent, now mixed with his own preferred bath products that only amplified how good she smelled. Before he totally lost it, his body turned enough to reach the stovetop, turning off the sole burner that was on for the curry. 

His attention fell solely on her, arms wrapping around her petite frame, face falling forward to her neck to bathe in her scent. Sasuke wasn’t sure if it was his hormones out of whack from shifting or if he was just losing his self-control, but his body seemed to have other plans when it came to Sakura. His tongue slid along her slender neck, moving up to meet her soft lips in a fiery kiss. A low rumble left his chest, unable to hold in the primal noise as their lips slid against one another, tasting each other as much as possible. His hands moved along her back, one sliding up the back of her loose tank top to feel more of her bare skin. A soft moan fell from her lips when he ran his calloused palms over such baby soft skin. Snapping back from her, he pulled the pinkette to the empty counter across from the stove, placing her on top of the marble surface facing him. Her legs hung off the side of the counter, his hips pushing them apart so he could resume his attack on her mouth. 

Sakura could see the tinge of red that was filling his eyes. The colour was so bright when it mixed with his natural onyx, illuminating the orbs that were currently only focused on her. She gasped as his rough palm slid over her earlier wound, a sharp inhale cut off by his tongue greedily searching her mouth. His hands moved to her front, squeezing and tugging at her sensitive breasts. The fingers felt rougher, the pads covered with a strange sandpaper-like texture that left her squirming from his ministrations. She remembered how to control her limbs, moving her arms to wrap around the muscular frame pushing in between her thighs, his rock hard erection pushing against her own sensitive flesh. 

Sakura noticed how breathless Sasuke seemed. Every action seemed to be exhausting for the Uchiha as her body was firmly in his grasp.

“S-Sasuke? Are you okay?” Her words were meek, stuttering from the intensity of their movements. His eyes opened slightly, red brightly decorating around his pupils, offering a small nod as an answer. She could tell he understood her words,  _ so that’s something.  _

His hands slid down to her plush hips, fingers kneading flesh as he lifted her off the counter, just enough to slide her cotton shorts completely off. Placing her back down, his eyes remained fixated on her as he slid his own sweatpants down. When she eyed the hot flesh that wavered dangerously close to her sex, she couldn’t help but notice how  _ big _ he currently looked. Sasuke seemed on the very edge of pain when his tip pressed against her lips, rubbing along the slippery folds. As he clenched his teeth together, a long groan escaped his lips before slowly pushing into her sex. Sakura immediately realized that he  _ was _ a little bigger when her whole body shook from the erection that was currently impaling her. 

“Ah! S-Sasuke! Take it easy…” She cried out as he stopped moving forward, remaining partially buried inside her pussy. He didn’t say anything, but his eyes ran over her face with a look that could only be described as hunger. One of his hands went up to her face, while the other went lower to where they were joined together. The rough skin that caressed her face felt so odd, a texture that she thought she had felt before over the week in the cabin, but not recently. Distracted by the hand on her face, she shuddered when his other hand rubbed furiously along her clit, eliciting a throaty cry from the pinkette. He carefully snuck a thumb along her lips, the digit teetering along the edge of her mouth while she panted and cried from the pleasure he wrought on her. She lost what control she had, totally willing herself to him as he slid his thumb into her mouth, letting her tongue roll against the thick digit. The other hand retreated from her clit, quickly pulling her closer to the edge of the counter before slamming the rest of his length inside of her pussy. 

His movements were fast, unrelenting, as he hammered into her sex at an unforgiving speed. The digit in her mouth became something for her to focus on as his dick thrust into her innermost depths, skating the fine line of immense pleasure and pain. Her teeth ground against his thumb, biting down as she loudly cried out. Firm fingers dug into her ass, Sasuke holding her as close as possible with his thrusts, feeling his climax building. He was completely drunk from the sensations, relishing in the primal pleasure he felt in the moment. The way Sakura sucked and bit down on his thumb was torture, pushing him closer and faster to the edge than normal. To prevent an early end to their act, he quickly removed his thumb from her hot mouth, opting to fully withdraw from her drenched pussy. 

She didn’t get a chance to relax as he pulled her off the counter, twist her around to face away from him, and bent her forward over where she just sat. Her breasts flattened against the counter, body firmly pressed down by one of his palms. He quickly pushed into her once again, not giving her a chance to readjust before continuing the powerful thrusts. His hips slapped against her ass with every plunge into her core, the deep strokes hitting as far inside of her as she thought was possible. A mix of groans and low growls left his lips, contrasting with her high pitched cries muffled by the countertop. Her climax was building, but she was desperate for release, clawing at his muscular thighs that pinned her against the counter. Almost immediately knowing what she wanted, Sasuke grabbed her soft hips, pulling them slightly up, leaving her on her tippy toes, but most of her weight being held up by the raven haired man currently thrusting into her. 

It didn’t take long at their new angle for her to reach ecstasy, a near scream leaving her throat amidst his final plunges. The way her pussy quivered, pulsating around his engorged dick, was too much for him to hold on any longer. His climax was nearly painful, his dick milked for every last drop he had. Instead of softening, he remained rock hard inside of her sheath.

“Sakura?” The voice that left his lips was much lower than he intended, hoping he didn’t scare her. He rubbed his hand along the side of her head, her face turning towards him while she remained bent over the counter. He offered a slight smile, her own lips forming a small smile in return. 

“Your eyes are really red…” she quietly muttered, too exhausted to move her body from where she leaned. Curious, he looked at his hands, finally getting a good look at the digits that had changed during their act. His fingernails had grown out, longer and thicker, close to the claws he would sport as a wolf. His body was a little hairier than when they started, his frame feeling a little different in its extremely muscular form, and all the smells around him were intense as they filled his nostrils. 

_ Fuck. I’m partially shifted.  _ His hips tried sliding back to retreat from her body, but as soon as he tried, Sakura cried out with pain edging its way into her voice. “AH! Don’t do that!” 

“Ah, sorry…” He paused, a little embarrassed at what was happening. “Sakura, it’s gonna be a minute until the swelling goes down…” He ran his hands to her upper torso, pulling her up enough for him to kiss the back of her head.  _ Why body, why… nothing has changed since I thought I was out of heat.  _ “I’m really sorry…”

“I thought you said you were done with being in heat?” She tried to wiggle out of his grip, but her pussy was stretched with the massive girth that rested in between inside her. “You’re still just as…  _ wolfy  _ as before.”

He didn’t really have a good explanation for her. 

“I thought I was… I know my body is somewhere between normal and wolf-like, and I feel like shit for not controlling myself more…” he sighed, still unable to pull out of the wet sheath that covered his length. He tried taking a few deep breaths to control himself, counting in his mind, until a strong grip squeezed on his dick. He hissed out, poorly trying to suppress the animalistic noises that came with partially shifting. Sakura chuckled as she resumed leaning against the counter. His eyes narrowed at the mischievous pinkette who seemed proud of herself.

“Really? I’m stuck like this, and you do  _ that. _ ”

She couldn’t suppress the small laugh leaving her lips, his temper flaring a little from her amusement. He wasn’t  _ angry _ with her, but a little payback seemed…  _ fitting _ .

“If you’re gonna play that game,” he leaned forward, whispering the words as he hunched even more over her slender frame, “then maybe I should play games too.”

Before she could respond, he slammed his hips forward, letting his dick hit the most inner depths of her pussy, still rock hard and swollen from partially shifting. “Fuck!” Sakura cried out, falling completely on her breasts on the counter, the side of her face against the cool marble-like material. The points of his near-claws dug into the soft flesh of her hips, slowly withdrawing while she writhed under him. Everything was so much more stimulating, for both of them, as his dick remained swollen inside of her. The pain was quickly overridden by a second thrust, another burst of pleasure filling her core from the rough, fast, penetrations. He fell back into a rhythm, withdrawing as much as possible between each plunge of his length. She couldn’t muster any words, feeling drool fall from her lips as her mouth stayed open, loudly moaning as he stroked her insides. 

She was too sensitive, every movement of his pushing her straight back into another climax. It didn’t take long for her to peak, riding out her high in one long moan, his hips speeding up to quickly reach his. When he came again, it was even more violent than the first time, even more of his seed filling the depths of his lover. 

He knew he should be more exhausted than he felt. Sakura couldn’t hold herself up anymore, face remaining on the marble countertop, breathing heavily as she slowly recovered. His dick didn’t soften, didn’t ease up, remained too hard for comfort even after emptying twice. There was only one explanation he could muster.

_ I… I have to be in heat again somehow. It feels too damn good... _

His fingers stroked her back, feeling the spots he had dug his nails into her delicate skin, skimming what remained of her earlier injury. Her skin was so soft to the touch, something that never changed from what he remembered years prior. His nails were just as long, arms still a little hairier than normal. Something inside of him was becoming a little too much to keep under wraps. Any remnants of the onyx in his eyes morphed into vibrant red, his mind falling to the wayside while the thoughts from his wolf came forward.

The last thing he remembered was just how tired he was as they laid in his bed.

. . .

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know we needed to get back to the smut ;) I was debating about posting this or not since I’m having trouble getting my other fic the way I want it, but I figured something is better than nothing.
> 
> So, this chapter was a little everywhere. I added some dialogue with Hinata, who really cares for Sakura here, and kind of inserted some of my own anxieties into Sakura. Sasuke is just having a rough time dealing with himself since he doesn’t know what the fuck his body is doing. I’m not trying to follow the jealous Sasuke trope here, because for this story it’s more of a wolf protectiveness thing. He’s not particularly worried, but his wolf doesn’t like others messing with her. He notes that he is a fast shifter, and his transformation is supposed to be painful. Just adding in some details... I hope you enjoyed the smut in this chapter too <3


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Summary: Further monitoring for other possible health effects on himself and his partner. The partner should remain as close as possible as chemical imbalances could occur from attempted separation, as there would be a sudden drop in administered ‘drugs’ to said partner. Would also recommend this information remaining confidential as possible pact conflict could occur from this discovery. In conclusion, Uchiha Sasuke is an alpha wolf._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _I had you in my grip, but you're starting to slip_   
>  _Bring out the worst in me_

. . .

Sakura was sore, _very sore._ As she sat up, naked form barely covered by dark sheets and a black comforter, she could feel a dull ache between her thighs. _How many times did we go at it… I don’t know if I could walk straight._ She wiped away some of the sleep from her eyes, turning her attention to the relaxed form next to her. Sasuke looked the epitome of comfort. A small, near silent snore came from the raven-haired man, making Sakura giggle a little. She looked around the bedroom, trying to figure out where her phone would be, leaning over the side of the bed to check her shorts on the floor.

_Ouch ouch ouch… Too much moving._

Picking up the small thing, she turned it on to see the time, along with a few missed calls and messages. _Ah fuck. It's noon._ One of the missed calls happened to be the clinic from yesterday, no doubt results from Tsunade. She didn’t realize it initially when she woke up, but Sakura’s head was now pounding. Sitting back up in the bed, her palms pressed on her forehead to relieve some of the pressure from her aching head. After some shuffling under the sheets, Sasuke seemed to be waking up as his eyes slowly opened to meet the pinkette’s. His face seemed a little dazed, like he was still partially asleep. There was also no missing the red that lingered in the whites of his eyes from last night. Sakura wouldn’t forget how fast his eyes and face changed last night before she was thrown into more carnal bliss.

_Coming down from her second climax, Sakura barely managed to turn her head to see Sasuke. As her eyes met his, her body tensed up slightly from what she saw. His eyes were blood red, pupils and white coated as they focused on her back. Sasuke didn’t seem to be entirely “there” as his teeth shined in the fluorescent lights of the kitchen. They were long, maybe longer than when he said he was in heat in the cabin. His face seemed more angular than normal, features very defined by the harsh bone structure that had shaped under his pale skin._

_Before she could even say anything, his head dipped down to meet her back, raking the tips of his teeth along her spine. She couldn’t hold in the gasp that left her lips, unable to see what he was doing to her back. Next came his tongue, the texture of rough sandpaper moving along her spine with his teeth. It was an indescribable feeling as that rough tongue worked its way along her flushed and sensitive skin. She felt her skin growing hot again, like every touch was searing against her milky white flesh, all from his mouth against her._

_Then he bit down._

**_Hard._ **

_Somewhere just under her right shoulder blade, his teeth pierced the delicate, hot skin. Sakura nearly jumped, not expecting the sudden points in her back, but something was calming her down - quickly. All of the tension released from her body, no pain felt in her back whatsoever. If anything, she felt an immense sense of relief, all the possible pain in her body being drained away as he gently sucked down on the skin he had just pierced. Teeth remaining in her back, his hips started to rock again, a snarl leaving his lips as he moved. It was a weird combination of numbness with such a searing heat spreading through her core. It was more intense than anything they had shared in the cabin._

_Front teeth still firmly planted in place, his tongue licked under the wound, each lap of his tongue sending heat into her body._ What is happening to me… It’s so hot… Everything… It’s like last time in the hallway… _Her mind was reeling in pleasure as his hips picked up the pace, filling her to the hilt with every plunge. The familiar sensation in her core twisted in knots, almost painfully tight as he aggressively hammered into her petite frame, teeth holding her firmly down. Another deep rumble left his chest, definitely not a human sound, his hands moving to her ass to dig their tips into the pale flesh, nails included. Nothing really hurt though. Every nerve was on fire, every sensation so much more exhilarating than normal. She couldn’t understand why all of these, normally painful actions, felt so_ **_good_ ** _._

_His teeth released from her back, cool air hitting the searing heat where he bit into her flesh. Sakura couldn’t take the combination of sensations as all of the built up tension in her core released at once, even more intensely as before. “Fuck! AH!” Her cries were accompanied by low grunts and growls as Sasuke found his own release, Sakura feeling his dick throb deep inside of her as he emptied himself again._

_Her brain was fuzzy, everything stimulating from the air around them to every graze of her skin by the Uchiha. His dick was still firmly planted inside of her, not moving anywhere. Holy shit… He’s still hard…? She barely managed to turn her face again, before meeting those same intense red eyes, but with an added colour on his lips. Blood was very visible on his lips, coating the flush pout. When their eyes met, his tongue ran along the slick crimson substance, a growl escaping as his eyes rolled back a little._

_She couldn’t explain it, and probably seemed absolutely insane to any normal human being, but she wasn’t scared. She wasn’t horrified. If anything, she was still too god damn horny to think straight. She tried to contort her body to get a better view of the Uchiha, lifting her back up as he remained comfortably inside of her pussy. Even as his dick pulsed inside of her, she was able to move her lips close enough to his face._

_“Sasuke… Let’s move somewhere more comfortable…”_

_She kept her words quiet, nothing to startle him as he clearly wasn’t himself. His eyes kept trailed on hers, seeming to understand something as the raven-haired man slowly nodded. He winced as he pulled out, no doubt from the fact he was still hard as a rock. Embarrassingly, Sakura wasn’t sure how much she could walk in her state, but the Uchiha seemed to have already considered this as he pulled her up into his arms, carrying her to his bedroom._

“Hn, Sakura?” Sasuke slowly started to sit up, moving his face closer to plant a chaste kiss on her lips. Red flushed across the pinkette’s face as the Uchiha gave a sly smile when he pulled away. She watched him stretch out his arms, loosen up his muscles before his eyes narrowed, nose crinkling. “Sakura…” His tongue darted across his lips before realization dawned in his ebony eyes. “Oh shit. I bit you again didn’t I?”

A sigh left her lips, throwing her arms around Sasuke as he nearly jumped from the sudden move. “Don’t be upset. You clearly weren’t you.”

He didn’t answer immediately, letting a few seconds of silence pass by first. 

“I’m still sorry.”

“I know. If it makes you feel better…” Sakura knew she was blushing, though she wasn’t sure why she was embarrassed at this point. “It felt _really_ good…”

Sasuke felt a tinge of a smile grace his lips, before resuming his normal scowl. 

“Did I… Did I do anything else… out of the ordinary?”

Sakura had plenty to explain but started small. 

_Let’s not scare him too much._

“Well, your eyes were super red. Way more than before. It was a little scary but I knew it was still you,” Sakura murmured, voice low as she kept her arms firmly planted around the Uchiha, naked form pressing against him. 

Once again, he didn’t answer for a few seconds.

“What else?” Sakura couldn’t tell what he was exactly thinking from the calm tone of Sasuke’s voice. She continued, but remained cautious.

“Well we definietly had a lot of sex…” Sakura shifted a little bit while keeping her hold on her lover. “I’m pretty damn sore.”

She chuckled into his hair, a definite hint of musk from their long night.

“I figured as much…” he groaned while shifting as well in her hold. “My abs fucking hurt from it. I don’t think they ever hurt this much while we were shacked up in the woods…”

Sakura pulled back a little but let her hands stay on his body while speaking to him. She felt comfort keeping some form of touch on the raven-haired man.

“Tell me about it. I’m so sore down there,” she winced as the words left her mouth. “Oh!”

Sakura shuffled over to grab her phone, finally releasing her hold on the Uchiha. He silently missed her touch, but realized immediately after that thought that she was still sitting next to him. _What the fuck Sasuke, hold it together._

“Tsunade called earlier… a few times,” Sakura spoke, eyes moving from her phone to Sasuke’s. He groaned, not enjoying that bit of news. “She must have the results back from all the blood work and swabs.”

Sasuke nodded. “By the way, what time is it Sakura?”

She gave an awkward smile before delivering the news.

“It’s half past noon.”

Sasuke’s eyes widened on that bit of information. 

“Well fuck. I don’t remember the last time I slept in that much,” Sasuke said as he finally started to get out of the bed, tripping a little as his feet found the wood floor. “My legs are not cooperating very well…” His eyes focused on hers with a sly smirk.

“Maybe we did do it a little too much…” Sakura laughed after the obvious comment.

. . .

Shizune, one of Tsuande’s nurses at the clinic, ushered them back the second they walked in. The moment they walked in, Sakura knew something was amiss, as did Sasuke whose face went blank the second he noticed the grave look in Shizune’s eyes. It didn’t take long for Tsunade to make her way to their private room, clipboard in hand and a frown on her face. She looked a little annoyed, Sakura not enjoying the scowl on the older woman’s face.

“I called you three times this morning,” Tsunade said, placing a hand on a hip to emphasize her annoyance with the youngsters. “Well you’re here now at least.”

“So, what’s going on?” Sasuke immediately got straight to the point of the visit, clearly not wanting to avoid the topic. Tsunade nodded, sitting down in her swivel chair next to her computer.

“Well you two are fine. That’s the good news.” Tsunade separated out some documents while the two nodded. Sasuke felt a tinge of impatience set in his jaw, reading something in those words that he did not like.

“But there were definitely some anomalies, ones that I had to discuss with Orochimaru about. He’s more familiar with some of the unusual wolf traits,” Tsunade explained, eyes trailing between the two with a stern intensity.

“Look, I wouldn’t have noticed if it was just me evaluating your results, and i’m happy that weirdo was able to help. Sasuke,” Tsuande set her intense brown eyes on the Uchiha, handing him results of the test as she kept a copy for herself. He tried skimming the pages but the jargon and numbers were foreign to him.

“What the fuck does this even mean, Tsuande?” Sasuke demanded, realizing his poor choice of words as the woman in front of him scowled.

“This information is private. Only myself, Orochimaru, and Sakura are witnesses to these results. She deserves to know as she is **very** involved."

The pinkette’s eyes shuffled between her former teacher and her lover.

_This can’t be good._

“You have extremely high amounts of certain neurotransmitters in your blood and saliva. Mainly, dopamine and norepinephrine,” Tsuande paused looking at the two, eyes shifting to Sakura as she nodded with a straight line on her face. Sasuke only grew more annoyed, but Tsuande could see it in his eyes by the hints of red.

“Put it simply, you are permanently in a state of what we normally refer to as your ‘heat.’ Hence the wild mood changes and high sex drive. Judging by the levels, and consulting Orochimaru with it, it’s not going away like it does for normal werewolves. As for Sakura,” Tsuande handed a smaller pile of paper to her former student, her eyes immediately peeling to the information on the sheets for answers. “She also has elevated levels, which is not normal, because she is human, and the fact she isn’t on any mood-altering or antipsychotic drugs.”

“Then how is that possible?” Sakura said with confusion plastered across her face.

“Well, Orochimaru actually helped with that side. We consulted the swab samples after he suggested it. Sasuke’s saliva is filled with these neurotransmitters, practically a strong mood-altering drug in itself.” Tsunade paused to give the Uchiha a moment to speak, but he shook his head and instead waited for her to continue. His mind was spinning from this revelation, but still felt something was amiss.

“So the bites he gives you are essentially injecting these straight into your blood. It explains why you feel almost high or drunk when you two are together,” Tsuande flips to the next page, the stoic look on her face somehow even more serious.

“Sasuke,” she directly addressed the Uchiha, taking a deep breath before handing him another sheet of paper. He noticed that the notes were taken by Orochimaru as he read through the paper. He skimmed and quickly landed on the bottom of the page.

_Summary: Further monitoring for other possible health effects on himself and his partner. The partner should remain as close as possible as chemical imbalances could occur from attempted separation, as there would be a sudden drop in administered ‘drugs’ to said partner. Would also recommend this information remaining confidential as possible pact conflict could occur from this discovery. In conclusion, Uchiha Sasuke is an alpha wolf._

“...how?” The sole word left Sasuke’s lips as he looked up at the older woman. There was nothing in that stoic face of hers. His eyes moved to Sakura’s, worry obvious from her green gems. 

_I’ve dragged her into this. I should have noticed the differences. I should have noticed that something wasn't normal. FUCK._

“Sakura,” Tsunade reached out, holding her dear student’s hand. “I hope this is okay for you, but you might have to stay here longer than what you initially planned.”

Her eyes went wide, unsure of what to say from that cryptic piece of advice. She quickly zoomed on Sasuke’s face, his features paler than normal.

“You have to promise to keep this confidential, for a myriad of reasons that Sasuke could explain to you at a later date, but he is an alpha wolf. What he has effectively done has mated you. For the betterment of your own health and his, you’ll have to stay here… for a while.”

“I… I don’t understand. Why is this a bad thing…? Sasuke’s okay right?” Sakura was on the edge of her seat, not understanding the grave energy in the room.

“Sasuke’s fine, it’s just that alphas are a very serious thing in pacts…”

“There can’t be more than one, is what she’s saying.”

Sasuke’s interjection silenced both women as his features edged towards the sharper side. Many thoughts came running into his mind, an image of Madara almost made him see red. _This makes so much fucking sense. He’s always pissed me off, just by being around. Nature was trying to tell me something, after all._

Sakura looked down, thoughts, and heart, racing before raising her gaze to the Uchiha.

“Madara. He’s the alpha isn’t he. That’s the problem.” Sakura took their joint silence as agreement. “About this mating thing, what all do you mean by that?”

Sasuke spoke up first. “It’s for life. Most wolves develop possessive feelings for people they love, but mating is different. It’s almost like a physical need for someone. That’s what she means by you having to stay here…” Sasuke cut himself off before he said something he would regret. _And it’s all my fucking fault. I fucking drugged you and now you’re mine._

Sakura bit her bottom lip, thoughts churning as Tsunade sat back to let the two of them vent out any frustrations. She could see something needed to be discussed between the two in private, standing up and smothering down her cardigan. 

“I’ll leave you two, but stop by Shizune when you are ready to leave. I’ll give you some space to figure this all out.” Tsunade looked at her former student, unable to help the small smile form. “Sakura, seeing as you might be here for a while, if you want a job, just let me know. You’re a brilliant pupil and I would love to have you back here.” She offered a small wave as the woman left the two lovers by themselves.

“Sakura… I’m sorry…”

“Sasuke.” Sakura’s tone was stern, her own face full of conflicting emotions. She gained his full attention, ebony eyes wide and fully focused. “Don’t kick yourself. I can already see that you are feeling that way…”

Sasuke ground his teeth.

“But _it is_ my fucking fault! I didn’t even stop to consider what I might be doing to you. I dragged you into this shit, and that’s not right for me to…” he was cut off by a quick embrace of the pinkette. Her arms fully encircled his frame, face next to his own, lips near his ear.

“Stop that.”

“Sakura…” Sasuke tried to argue, but she wasn’t having it.

“I said stop. Look,” she pulled back, but remained close so her face took up most of his vision. Her beautiful green gems stared intensely into his own eyes, searching for something. Her words were stern, authoritative, commanding. 

“I love you.”

Those three words made his heart skip a beat. He could already tell how she felt for him, but hearing her say it with such conviction seemed to soothe his mind, for the moment. The firm line across her face loosened up, some of the gentleness of her normal expression returning.

“Sasuke, i’m okay with staying here. I really am. I’ve already thought about it, and honestly why the hell do I want to go back?” she laughed, but he could sense the dark undertones in it. “I’ll just grab my stuff and get things moved here. If you don’t mind me staying with you…”

His eyes blinked. “Well yeah, I would much rather you stay with me.”

A smirk formed on her flushed face, a finger raised to her lips.

“You mean you don’t want me to stay with someone else like Naruto?”

“Don’t even fuck with me like that…” Sasuke felt shivers. He trusted her, and his idiot best friend, but something was just wrong with her not living with him if she were to move here. His wolf felt at peace with the idea of pink hair and green eyes greeting him every morning. 

“You feeling okay?” the pinkette held a bit of sadness in her eyes.

He took a deep breath. “Yeah. Just trying to take all this in. It’s such a fucking mess…” He caught the frown forming on her face, not wanting that reaction at all. Sasuke moved forward to give her a quick kiss on the lips, leaving Sakura blushing that beautiful shade of pink that matched her hair.

“Let’s just get out of here. At least we have some answers.” Sasuke sighed after that statement. It wasn’t exactly the news he wanted, but it was something that explained his behavior. _I still feel like shit for forcing Sakura to move back..._

**_No you don’t._ **He could feel his ears poke up, just like a wolf listening to his surroundings. He didn’t sense anything strange nearby. Sasuke had no answer for where that voice could have come from. 

Sakura grabbed her documents, as well as Sasuke, and made their way out of the office. Tsunade caught a glance of them in the hallway as she talked with another doctor in the clinic. The woman raised an eyebrow at the two, but seemed pleased with the simple nod Sakura returned her. When Shizune saw them at the front, she offered a smile as she handed some more paperwork for the two.

“This is just copies of everything, and Tsunade mentioned you would need an application. I’m excited to see you here again Sakura,” Shizune kept her voice low so as to not disturb any of the other patients in the waiting room. Sakura kept a smile on her face, but something about it seemed off. Sasuke wasn’t sure what it was, _but i’ll ask later._

. . .

“No shit. Really?”

Naruto longued comfortably on the sofa in Sasuke’s living room. The blonde rushed over as soon as the Uchiha called, knowing something was amiss for him to actually request him to come over as soon as possible. Sasuke just broke the news, and needed Naruto to understand what was going on. It also just felt right to keep him in the loop.

“It makes sense though. Everything Tsunade said explained what was going on. However, my family can’t know this at all.” Sasuke’s eyes darkened on that note. Naruto quickly nodded, fully understanding what he meant. Sakura looked at both of the young men with a hot cocoa in hand, sitting in Sasuke’s lap as they sat in the smaller armchair. 

“Why can’t they now exactly?”

“Because it’s one alpha per pact. That’s the law. My father told me that back in the day, if pacts got more than one alpha, they would have to fight for the spot.” Sasuke grimaced. He didn’t want it to come to that, especially with Madara. 

“Yeah, there was a nasty incident in Hinata’s family not too long ago with her cousin Neji. He rightfully took over, but they’re not happy about it at all! I think it’s mostly because he isn’t from the main family, yet he still became alpha.” Naruto rolled his eyes, letting out a huff as he finished, fangs barely noticeable between words. He was clearly annoyed, but Sakura didn’t want to pry.

She took a quiet sip of cocoa, nice and sweet with lots of whipped cream that melted into the chocolatey drink. Likewise, Naruto took a swig of his beer, keeping the can in his hand. Sasuke didn’t even ask if he wanted anything, the blonde just helped himself - but her lover seemed fine with that. A hand caressed her arm, gently rubbing down the side with rough fingertips. It was incredibly relaxing.

“So what’s the plan then? You staying here, Sakura?” Naruto’s big blue eyes locked in on the pinkette, catching her a little off guard with that stare. Almost like Sasuke knew she was little unprepared for that question, he tapped on her back shoulder blade, her eyes turning to meet his.

“You okay?” His eyes weren’t completely onyx, some red hints swirling in them that she had grown more accustomed to over the past two days. She offered back a nod, returning her focus to Naruto. He looked back and forth at his two best friends before opening his mouth.

“You two are weird.”

“Ummm what?” Sakura laughed at how random the comment was. That was not what she expected to hear with his serious eyes still trailing between the two of them.

“What’s up your ass, dobe?” Sasuke raised an eyebrow, equally confused by Naruto’s behavior. The blonde squirmed a little before saying something.

“You just asked her a question right?”

Sasuke blinked. “Yeah. You’re deaf now?”

“Well, uh, it was silent?” Naruto took another sip of his beer, confusion riddling his face.

Sasuke’s eyes widened. _What the fuck?_

Sakura turned slightly on his lap, more of a comical look in her eyes. She thought it was a terrible joke judging by how she looked like she wanted to burst out laughing. The Uchiha wanted to test the blonde’s observation.

“You’re really beautiful.”

Sakura flushed across her face, eyes widening and mouth parted in surprise.

“Eh? Sasuke, y-you okay? What’s up?” Sakura barely got out in her blushing panic.

Onyx eyes quickly turned to stare at blue, where he saw Naruto shaking his head.

“I’ve never seen that before. Well... I don’t think I have? I don’t really hang out with alphas so…” Naruto rubbed the back of his head, placing his beer on the end table next to the couch. “I can’t hear you when you whisper like that. How low pitched are you speaking? How can Sakura hear you?”

Sakura caught on.

“Wait what? You sound normal to me. Maybe a little quieter than normal, but I can still hear you just fine.” Her mind raced for answers. _How could I hear something Naruto can’t?_

“Do you know if Madara does shit like this?” Sakura could feel something angry seep from Sasuke, just from Naruto merely mentioning Madara’s name around him. _This is worse than the dinner, and he actually saw him there._

“I mean that’s kinda cool, but yeah I don’t know how you’re doing that.” Naruto laughed off the previous comment, changing the subject. “Don’t wolves do something like that to control their pacts? Howl in different pitches? And you said that you two are mated?”

Sasuke leaned back a little, letting his earlier burst of anger leave his body.

“That’s what she said. That’s why she suggested Sakura _stay here_.”

Sakura picked up on a tone she didn’t like in his words.

“Stop sounding so upset about it.” Sakura turned around enough to see his eyes, her sharp green gems glaring at him. Sasuke was still brooding over what he had accidentally done.

Naruto was stuck between amusement and surprise.

“In a weird way, nothing’s changed,” Naruto laughed the words out. He was happy to see his friends act so… _normal_ amongst the news. He finished off his can of beer while the other two glared at each other. “But yeah, i’ll keep quiet. I get it. I’m just happy that Sakura gets to come back!” 

Naruto’s smile grew across his face. He was genuinely happy to be around his now-full childhood friend circle. Sakura added a nice contrast to Sasuke’s negative attitude at times. In fact, he couldn’t remember the last time he saw the guy relaxed. Sasuke was not one to “chill” or “loosen up” at all. However, around Sakura that changed almost completely. Despite the red that swirled in his eyes when Sakura was involved, everything seemed _kind of_ normal. Though, the fact his best friend was actually an alpha was surprising news, yet not necessarily bad. 

_He’s leagues better than Madara’s ass._

Almost like he could read minds, which Naruto silently pleaded wasn’t a thing that came with being an alpha _in addition to the already strange abundance of things Sasuke had developed_ , the Uchiha’s gaze quickly shifted to the cerulean eyes that looked nervous to him. After a few seconds of indecision, Sasuke broke eye contact with the blonde, an exhale leaving his lungs that he didn’t even realize he was holding in. 

_Fuck, he’s my best friend. Why am I getting so nervous…_

_Oh yeah. Nature being nature, I guess._

“I’ll have to at least go back and get my stuff soon. I can’t exactly move my stuff without being there myself.” Sakura sighed. She wasn’t looking forward to the logistical mess when it came to moving. All she really wanted was to just stay here in her hometown. 

“Can’t you just call and make arrangements from here?” Sasuke asked, a look covering his face that Sakura couldn’t quite decipher. She shook her head.

“No. I can’t just end my lease over the phone. I have to go back for that stuff, and I don’t want some random movers moving my things when I left all of my important documents back home.” A smirk crossed her lips. “I wasn’t exactly thinking I was going home for good.”

Sasuke rolled his eyes, adjusting himself in the seat under her as Naruto got up and made his way into the kitchen to get another beer. While the blonde was out of the immediate room, Sakura decided to _innocently_ move around on the Uchiha’s lap, which led to a low growl leaving the raven-haired man’s mouth. His red eyes met hers, noticing the glint in her gems that meant she was up to no good under that beautiful face. Thinking back to their discovery today, he thought to see what Tsunade was saying he could do. _I mean… why not?_

Fangs slowly showed themselves, Sakura biting her lip at seeing the little intruders. His red eyes narrowed on the pale skin around her neck that was exposed by her slouchy sweater top. Knowing the dobe was still in the other room, his face leaned forward, teeth lightly scraping her delicate skin. Sakura was trying her best to prevent any sounds from leaving her lips and keep her cocoa cup firmly in her grasp. Naruto made a point before of saying how good his hearing was, and she would rather not have him interrupting right now. 

Sasuke’s face moved upward, lips moving to the sweet pink pout waiting hungrily for him. Stealing a kiss, his lips moved to meet hers, mouth opening to let his tongue forcefully push into hers. Returning the kiss, her body shifted a little more towards him, finally putting the hot cocoa cup on the adjacent end table, swiveling slightly on his lap and rubbing against a very prominent erection under her ass. His control was slipping, only held together by the knowledge that his best friend was in the next room. After a few seconds of sharing a rough kiss, the two separated with eyes remaining fixed on each other. Tension floated between the two, Sakura feeling it and Sasuke smelling the heavy need floating among them. 

Consciously looking for something different, he saw it. The shift in his lover’s face became obvious as his eyes lingered. Her green gems seemed cloudy, hazy, like she had one too many drinks. The pink in her cheeks was very pronounced, accompanied by heavy pants coming from her lips. As much as he was fascinated with what he could do to her with just a kiss, his wolf was screaming at him to drag her to bed. As logical as he could be, he was happy, at times, to give into his wolf when it came to Sakura. Quickly leaving a chaste kiss on her forehead, Sasuke leaned back and called out to the blonde who was still in the kitchen. 

“Dobe, can you fucking go? I got something to do.”

Naruto’s head poked out, holding the rest of a six pack in his arms. A frown formed on his face upon seeing his best friends. 

“Yeah, yeah I get it. I’m going,” Naruto said, carrying the rest of the six pack and kicking on his shoes. He opened the door to the chilly evening, sighing as he turned to give them a goodbye.

The blonde rolled his eyes as he left.

“You guys are _so fucking horny._ ”

. . .

“Sir, he’s already changing.”

Madara sat in a tall, black office chair looking over a broad cityscape. It was warm and sunny outside, something he detested. His servant called in with a report, giving some interesting new developments for him to keep track of. It was extremely useful to have someone serve him who knew how to tap into things like cell phones. So much information was always at his fingertips. He thought about the young pup, wondering what his next moves would be.

“Specifics?” Madara was short with his words. Not wasting his breath on more than necessary with his underlings.

“Sounds like he has mated, and is quickly developing more alpha traits. I heard some mention of low pitched words? The Uzumaki couldn’t hear him from the sound of it.”

_Interesting, interesting._

“Yes. That is something worthy of note.” _And a potential pain in my ass._ “Anything else?”

“The girl apparently has to go home to pack up her belongings.”

_Perfect._

“That’s good news.” Madara smirked as he took a small sip of scotch from the glass on his desk. “Thank you for reporting in, and keep tabs on them. We need to know when she leaves his side.” _It’ll be the best time to strike._ He smiled as things were falling into place.

“Yes, Madara.”

. . .

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh Madara. What schemes are planning  
> (●´⌓`●)


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He still wasn’t quite sure why she agreed to everything so quickly, but they had been as close as two could be since she came back into his life. Seeing her bloom as she had, while staying with him, had been amazing. There was a nagging feeling in the back of his head though. There were times when Sakura was clearly not feeling like the happy person she showed everyone. He heard her tears in his own shower. That frustrated him to no end. All he wanted to do was know why she was crying. Everything in his body wanted to stop her tears from falling and comfort her. Even though he blames a lot of his weird tendencies on being a wolf, this one felt wholly human.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See the end for notes <3
> 
> _And now it's come to end, I think I'm giving in_   
>  _You set my demons free_

. . .

“Thanks for breakfast, Sasuke.” 

Sakura looked over at the Uchiha washing dishes in the adjacent kitchen. He nodded, hair messy and eyes still slow to open. Sakura giggled watching how much Sasuke wasn’t a morning person. She hummed to herself while pulling out her cell phone, noticing a message from Hinata. She quickly text her back to see what she was asking about.

**_Hey Hina, saw your text. What’s up?_ ** It didn’t take long for Hinata to answer.

_ Hey you wanna get coffee with me today? I can come get you! _

A smile crawled Sakura’s lips.  **_Of course! What time? We just finished a late breakfast here._ ** Her green eyes drifted to Sasuke, finishing up the dishes and putting things away in his kitchen.

_ Whenever you like Sakura! I could even come grab you now! Have a proper girl’s day! _

**_Sure. I’ll let Sasuke know so he doesn’t think I disappeared lol_ **

After receiving a thumbs up emoji from Hinata, Sakura turned around in her chair to completely face Sasuke. He noticed the small movement, eyes moving to meet hers. Since he finally finished cleaning up all the plates from their breakfast, he came over to Sakura at his dark cherry dining table. There was no missing the smile plastered on the pinkette’s face.

“What are you so cheery about?” Sasuke’s words were laced with playful teasing, still sleepy but always in the mood to mess with her.

“Hinata asked if I wanted to get coffee with her today. She’s also free and offered to come pick me up.” Sakura didn’t miss the slight narrowness in his eyes before they relaxed. Even if he didn’t mean to do it, Sasuke seemed tense.

“That’s fine. You don’t need my permission to go out with your friends,” Sasuke said, seriousness abundant in his onyx eyes.

“I just wanted to let you know, considering everything from yesterday.” Sakura really only wanted him to be aware, since he seemed to be struggling more with their sudden developments than she was. If anything, Sakura felt  _ better _ since hearing Tsunade’s news. It was the last push she needed to make her move back, and she was relieved to get it.

Sasuke sighed, leaning back in his chair. “You’re not wrong. It’s been such a mess. It’s one thing not to tell my family, but they are going to notice the second Madra suspects it. Thankfully, he doesn’t normally visit.”

Sakura was curious about that.

“He doesn’t live here with the rest of the pack?” Sakura couldn’t help but ask. It seemed odd to be in charge of a family,  _ pack _ , but not actually live with the rest of its members.

“It’s a little complicated. Madara has always been a little difficult for my family to deal with. Between Itachi not being a normal werewolf, and my hang ups as a teenager, I think he felt better about being disconnected.” Sasuke shrugged. “Honestly, no one knows what’s in his head, other than making money, which he is apparently good at since last time my dad mentioned it, Madara apparently lives this  _ luxurious _ life. That’s why it was so surprising to see him the other night at my parents house. My mom and dad had no clue he was coming, and they didn’t enjoy it either.”

“Does he really have that much of a problem with you and your brother?” Sakura asked, curious.

Sasuke blinked before laughing, a dark, sarcastic tone coating his laugh. 

“Oh, hell yeah he does. I don’t think he ever signed onto the idea of Itachi and his two spouses, for starters. An alpha only has as much control as you give him, so it wasn’t like he could really interfere, without upsetting a large portion of his pack. I think he would have interfered if they were two human partners though. As for me,” Sasuke rolled his eyes, remembering all the times in his youth seeing Madara at family functions. “He never cared for me. I was the second born, which usually means a lesser wolf. I wasn’t actively dating other wolves, which is also seen as a weird thing. He probably thought I was another weakling.”

“Why not though? Why not see someone like everyone else?”

Sasuke stopped and stared at the women next to him. Her hair was slightly wavy, still a little damp from their shower. The pink in her cheeks complimented her lovely cherry blossom hair, and the slight colour to her lips only made them more attractive. He was lost trying to find the right words to say to answer her question.

“Truthfully, because there wasn’t anyone I wanted…” Sasuke let out a long sigh before finishing his statement. “Well, except for you. And we both know why that didn’t happen.”

Some emotions welled up in Sakura. This wasn’t entirely new news to her, but she thought about what her lover said.  _ If we had just gone out sooner… What would have changed? Would I have ever left? Would Sasuke be on better terms with his family? Well the alpha thing probably would screw it up anyways, but… Why did we waste time? _

A dark, bare, room entered her mind. Some bookshelves spilled their contents onto the carpeted floors, mostly medical books and assorted literature from university classes. There were few comforts in the small space: a few photos from her years prior, some fake plants, assorted posters on the walls, and a corner computer area littered with cans and food containers from long nights of studying at the cheap plywood desk. There was only a single window to let in natural light, but it wasn't big enough to illuminate the entire space. The kitchen looked barely used, evidence of Sakura’s lack of cooking skills, and was accompanied by a messy bathroom, littered with skin and makeup products she also barely used.

It was a very different atmosphere from Sasuke’s home. 

There was immense warmth in his home, literally and figuratively, from the homey accents and rustic furnishings. Even though it had been such a short time since they reunited, she couldn’t imagine living anywhere else anymore. The thought of her old home would occasionally creep into her mind, and it liked to linger for an uncomfortable amount of time. Like a breath of fresh air, she was relieved to be away from that place for so long now. She knew she had to go back one more time to get her things, but that was okay.  _ That was bearable _ . As long as she didn’t have to sit back there on quiet nights, without anyone to accompany her as she thought way too much about her life, her situation, everything she really wanted but missed…

“Sakura?”

She wasn’t able to stop the gasp that left her lips when Sasuke broke her train of thought. Her eyes shifted to meet his own, concern laced in those onyx orbs. As he opened his lips to ask, someone decided to interrupt.

The front door opened, revealing a certain blonde man waltzing in with a pom pom hat bouncing on his head. His smile quickly disappeared as Sasuke somehow moved within punching distance in that small amount of time it took for Naruto to open the door. They all froze as the tension soared in those few fleeting seconds. Naruto gulped.

“Oi, teme. I texted you I was on the way this time.” Their dear friend let out a nervous chuckle as the Uchiha calmed down enough to move back towards Sakura. When he turned towards her, she could see the red quickly receding from his eyes. 

_ He was seriously going to do something if it wasn’t Naruto. _

“We gotta report in to Kakashi today. We’ve been off work for the longest we ever have, and we’re probably pushing our luck if we stay off any longer,” Naruto laughed, rubbing the back of his head as he kicked off his boots and threw his hat on the pile of shoes near the door.

“Ah. Figured as much.” Sasuke walked off towards the kitchen, filling up his mug with some more coffee as the blonde joined them at his dining room table. Once Sasuke came back to sit beside Sakura, the three of them chatted for a little bit before Sakura quickly sent a text to Hinata.

**_Hey, i’m good whenever you are. Naruto just came over and it sounds like they have stuff to do as well._ **

_ Yeah. They need to report in to Kakashi. They’ve been off work since you came to visit! _

**_I heard. Where we going exactly?_ **

_ A really yummy coffee shop that opened up while you were away. Remember Ino? _

Sakura giggled to herself.  **_How could I forget Ino-pig?_ **

_ You two, jeez. She opened up a cafe in town! It’s a really cool floral themed coffee shop. I think you would really like it! She even has a pink drink that i’m pretty sure is based off of you! _

**_Really?? That’s crazy!! :o_ **

_ I mean she does miss you, even if she’s too stubborn to say anything lol _

**_Well, whenever you are ready, swing on by. I’m sure the boys will be okay if left alone._ ** Sakura chuckled as she sent that last text to Hinata. Sasuke eyed her, trying to get a glimpse at her phone to see what was so funny. 

“Just messaging Hinata. She said she’ll swing by soon to come get me.” Sakura smiled, Naruto perking up at the Hyuga’s name. 

“Hinata is coming by? She barely crawled out of bed this morning! I’m surprised she’s up and productive!” Naruto laughed out, Sakura laughing back at the image. Sasuke raised an eyebrow at his blonde friend.

“Maybe you should calm down a little then, dobe.” Sasuke held his signature smirk, Sakura catching what he was saying beneath his words with a blush quickly filling her face.

Naruto stopped, his own eyebrows raised at the Uchiha.

“That’s funny coming from you, Mr. I-medically-can’t-stop-fucking-my-girlfriend.” Naruto barely made it through the insult without snickering. A frown covered Sasuke’s face, not particularly liking that remark from the dobe.

Before they could proceed to start a fight in Sasuke's lovely home, a knock sounded at his front door. Naruto shot up with a smile on his sheepish face, running to the door to greet the violet beauty on the other side. She followed him inside, the cutest pale lilac jacket and thick thermal leggings for the winter climate. Sakura jumped for joy at the sight of her dear friend. After exchanging some quick pleasantries, Sakura ran to get dressed, throwing on an oversized red sweater dress and accompanying thermal leggings like Hinata. Pleased with the simple outfit, she ran back out to leave a small kiss on Sasuke's cheek before grabbing her boots and running out the door with a mischievous smile. 

It all happened so fast that Sasuke stood in disbelief as his lover left with her friend. A red sheen covered his cheeks as she had left him a little stunned with the overt display of affection. Naruto's grin grew across his face, snickering at the Uchiha who stood completely still.

"Well aren't you two cute, bleh. Let's go see Kakashi already." Naruto crossed his arms behind his head, sticking his tongue out at his two best friends being cute. Sasuke seemed irritated, but he couldn't deny how good it felt when her soft lips pressed against his face. The sensation lingered, and it wasn't leaving him anytime soon. He turned to his bedroom to put on some clothes that suited the outside elements, leaving Naruto in his dining area to play with his phone while waiting.

Walking into his bedroom, Naruto could hear Sasuke utter his signature line. "Hn."

. . .

“This cafe is so cute!”

As they entered, the two young women were greeted by an array of flowers next to the front door. They were in bloom, despite the cold and harsh outdoor climate. It was obvious that someone was taking good care of the precious arrangement of colours. After taking a few steps inside, a very familiar blonde woman greeted them with an apron tied firmly around her waist. 

“Hello! Hinata, and good to see you forehead!” Ino was overloaded with joy as she ran around the counter to hug the pinkette in the tightest bear hug she had ever received. Ino paused, not saying anything as she took a deep breath. She took a step back, releasing Sakura with a strange look on her face. Her blue eyes flew to Hinata for answers, and the violet beauty nodded. Ino looked around the cafe once before addressing the two.

“Come, sit down! You are the only two here at the moment, since Hinata told me you were on the way.” Ino walked, leading the two to the seats at the bar. She patted the wooden surface to insist they sit down there, while she quickly moved to turn the open sign off.

Sakura knew something was up since everything Ino did was quick, and the noticeable lack of other patrons, in what seemed to be a beautiful cafe. Ino ran back behind the counter to whip up some quick drinks while Hinata and Sakura got comfortable on their respective seats. Sakura sat up, fingers fidgeting as she wasn’t sure what to expect. She was a little on edge from the sudden events around her.

Hinata noticed, choosing to break the silence while Ino worked on two lattes for her friends. “Hey, we just wanted to actually spend some girl time together, Sakura.” The pinkette was embarrassed, pulling her hands under the counter once she realized what she had been doing. Hinata held a very gentle smile on her gorgeous face, excited when a lovely latte was placed in front of her. Ino placed another one in front of Sakura but it had a slightly different colour than Hinata’s.

“Ino, my drink’s kinda pink…?” Sakura was not a coffee aficionado, but knew her old friend was, and the smug look on her face confirmed it.

“It’s one of my lovely vanilla lattes, but with some added beetroot powder! Gives it this really cute pink colour, and it tastes amazing in the winter.” Ino crossed her arms, a full-on smug grin covering her face. Sakura picked up the beautiful drink, taking a small sip.  _ It’s really nice. _

“Ino makes some wonderful stuff here. I love coming here to relax, or just have a chat with Ino, since Naruto isn’t exactly a fan of any of this stuff!” Hinata let out a small laugh, very characteristically her. 

“Yeah.” Ino leaned on the wall next to Sakura, so the pinkette was between herself and Hinata. “You’ve been spending time with Sasuke?” Her smile grew, a mischievous grin coating her face. Sakura wasn’t sure how to answer that sudden remark, the words stopping her from drinking anymore of her latte.

“Well, yeah. I came back over a week ago now, and things just kind of fell in place after that…” Sakura nervously laughed. She wasn’t used to this kind of discussion amongst friends.

“Sureeee,” Ino said, obviously wanting more details that Sakura wasn’t giving. “Well you obviously know about him being a wolf then.”

That really hit Sakura.

“Was I the only one who didn’t know?” She wasn’t sure whether to be insulted or embarrassed. She felt left out of a very important piece of information. 

“Not entirely.” Hinata spoke up, placing her cup back on its saucer. “Only people who need to know about it, well know. My family has wolves, Ino’s as well.”

“I’m a werewolf.” Ino said, crossed arms coming apart, leaning on the wall with a hand on her hip. “My family is also full of wolves, except I'm one of the, seemingly few, female wolves.”

Sakura blinked.

“Yeah, you’re only the second female wolf i’ve met so far.” Sakura was more curious than anything. For the most part, she had gotten over the shock of werewolves existing by spending time with Sasuke. “Despite all of this new information, I am happy to be home…”

“And we’re very happy to have you back, Sakura.” Hinata smiled, the words gentle and soothing from her lips.  _ It’s easy to see how Naruto fell for her. _

“Yeah, and I’m sure Sasuke appreciates it too.” Ino chuckled. “You  _ reek _ of him. Like you are just covered in his scent. There’s no mistaking who you have been hanging out with. I mean,” she took a deep breath. “There’s also a hint of Naruto but it’s pretty faint. They wander off somewhere?”

“Work. Since Sasuke took a week off, Naruto had also been off. He was pretty tired of staying home.” Hinata laughed towards the end. “He loves work, and said it was about time they reported into Kakashi. From what I heard, others were covering their duties since Sakura arrived.”

“Yeah they talked about that this morning.” Sakura took a sip of her delicious drink, making a note of ordering this again in the future. “I’m going to take one last trip back to get my stuff moved here, but then i’m back for good.”

Ino raised an eyebrow. “Sasuke’s alright with that?”

Sakura looked at her blonde friend. “Should he not be?”

“No, not like that.” she shook her head. “Wolves are very possessive, it’s unusual to travel far away like that. I wouldn’t particularly like it if Sai disappeared across the country for a few days.” A deep scowl formed on her face. “Ugh. Yeah that doesn’t sit right. But you know, sometimes you gotta, like in this case.”

Sakura took another sip of her pink latte, enjoying the delightfully earthy taste from the beetroot. “I’ll be back though, since Tsuande offered me a job yesterday.”

Ino perked up, small cup on the counter before she firmly grasped her close friend in her arms. “I’m so happy for you forehead! You’ll need to come by her often, and you as well Hinata!”

Ino released the pinkette, letting her breathe while Hinata received the blonde’s glare.

“You need to come here more as well. Naruto can take his arms off of you long enough to come by and try some new drinks with me.” Ino recrossed her arms as she joined them at the seat next to Sakura. Hinata blushed like mad, red encompassing her face as Sakura giggled at the violet haired woman’s response. She enjoyed having her friends back around her, and the wonderful beverages. Everything was falling into a wonderful new rhythm for the cherry blossom woman.

_ Just one more trip back. _

_ I can do this. _

_. . . _

“Look what we have here, eh?”

The older gray haired man laughed as he leaned back in his desk chair. He enjoyed seeing his two main officers, but the look on his raven-haired protege was… interesting.

Sasuke crossed his arms, obviously a little uncomfortable as Naruto nudged him with his shoulder. Both had on their ranger uniforms, long green pants with khaki-colour tops partially covered by their thick winter parkas. The Uchiha was a little too warm, itching to shake off the parka keeping in all the heat of his body.  _ It shouldn’t be this hard. Keep it together. _

“So Naruto tells me you needed a week off to do some catching up?” A smile formed under Kakashi’s mask. He already knew what had transpired thanks to a certain blonde employee of his.

He was very uncomfortable talking about it, but Sasuke had enough respect for Kakashi to answer his questions. “Yeah. I’m sorry for any inconvenience it may have caused…”

Kakashi kept a smile under his mask.

“It’s no problem. You never ask for time off, and Naruto explained to me some of the situation.” Sasuke side-eyed the dobe, eyes narrowing while Naruto could feel sweat bead down his face. “The Haruno girl eh? I remember her from when you all were kids. She seems nice.”

Smile receding, Kakashi sighed as he moved his seat back forward. 

“Of course, as you would expect, there is a lot of work to do since you both were out for awhile. It’s mainly a build up of the normal stuff, some animal rezoning issues and talks with a clan that is trying to get a little too close to this town. Talk some sense into them while you are out on patrol?” Kakashi had his trust placed in the two in front of him. They both nodded, taking their leave at once.

When they got into their shared patrol vehicle, Naruto spoke up.

“I thought you would be a little more upset about it.” Naruto laughed out as he started the Jeep. “I didn’t tell him everything but just enough to get the point across. You gonna say something, teme?”

A sigh escaped his lips. Sasuke shook his head.

“Thanks for covering for me. I should have told Kakashi when I disappeared but I just forgot…” Sasuke noticed the mischievous glint in his friend’s eyes. “You’re still a fucking moron, and I can’t understand for the life of me why that Hyuga girl stays with you.” Onyx eyes rolled away from the blonde’s comebacks to the window, watching the snow as Naruto pulled out of the ranger station. A small smirk crawled onto his lips since they both knew it wasn't a serious criticism at this point.

Sasuke knew that he had to do some things he didn’t want to do in the next coming days. He needed to stay behind and work while Sakura finished moving. That one sucked. He needed to keep this alpha business away from Madara, and most likely the rest of his family. That one also really sucked. Once Sakura moved in with him, everything would fall into place. At least that’s what she would say to him if she were here. 

He still wasn’t quite sure why she agreed to everything so quickly, but they had been as close as two could be since she came back into his life. Seeing her bloom as she had, while staying with him, had been amazing. There was a nagging feeling in the back of his head though. There were times when Sakura was clearly not feeling like the happy person she showed everyone. He heard her tears in his own shower. That frustrated him to no end. All he wanted to do was know why she was crying. Everything in his body wanted to stop her tears from falling and comfort her. Even though he blames a lot of his weird tendencies on being a wolf, this one felt wholly human.

. . .

When Sasuke took his first steps into his home,  _ her _ smell filled his nose. A pleasant mixture of strawberries, fresh flowers, and something clean and airy drowned his senses. As much as other smells could annoy him, hers was one he would gladly drown in, no questions asked. Shaking off his boots, he saw her in the kitchen out of the corner of his eye. Jade eyes were concentrated on something around the stove, before turning up to meet his own gaze.

“Hello Sasuke. Have a good day?” Her voice was soft, ethereal, always welcoming to his rough soul. He moved quickly over to her in the kitchen, surprise etched in her features as both of his arms encircled her waist. Rose filed her cheeks, embarrassment easily visible as well as her quickening heartbeat that his inhuman ears could pick up.

“It was good. What are you making?” He nuzzled his face into her soft hair. The strands smelled so good and he wanted to keep his face there for a little while as she spoke. 

“Ah, I wanted to heat up some of that really yummy curry you made so it didn’t go to waste. I also just made some hot cocoa since you said you would be home soon.” She put the spoon down in the rest as she leaned into his embrace, accepting the warmth radiating off of his tall body. They remained still for a few moments until Sakrua pulled herself out of his arms. She looked serious as she went back to stirring their meal.

“I talked with Ino and Hinata today.”

“Hn.” Sasuke took a seat in the dining room, watching her slowly stir the contents of the large stew pot. 

“I’m going back home tomorrow to get my stuff moved, and coming straight back here.” She turned her face to meet his, a smile growing on her lips. Sakura was clearly waiting for a proper response from him.

“Sounds like a plan…” Sasuke stopped himself from saying something he would regret. His wolf was screaming to not let her out of his sight, let alone so far away that she needed a plane to get there in a day. Pushing that part of himself aside he nodded. “The sooner it's all situated, the sooner you can start here and work with Tsunade.”

“And be with you.” Sakura giggled. “Something you neglected to say, wolf boy.”

He rolled his eyes, a smirk crossing his features from the playful banter.

They ate in peace. The curry was still just as good as it first was when he made it,  _ and kind of forgot about but that was my fault.  _ Sasuke stayed quiet as he enjoyed the meal his lover prepared, his thoughts circling around her soon-to-be departure tomorrow.

“Hinata was going to bring me to the airport in the morning, since she said you and Naruto have work tomorrow.”

Sasuke nodded, feeling okay with the Hyuga girl driving Sakura. Before his mind could go down another road he didn’t like, Sakura had quickly ushered their plates away as they finished eating. When she came back to the dining table, she didn’t sit down, instead opting to grab Sasuke’s hand with a blush highlighting her cheeks. 

“Since i’m going away and all for maybe a couple of days…” Sasuke didn’t need anymore explanation from the pinkette, jumping up and guiding her to his bedroom. She moved to the bed, Sasuke closing the door quietly behind them. His eyes landed on the beautiful woman residing in the middle of his large bed, shirt already wiggled off and discarded on the dark floors. Patience wasn’t one of his strong suits, pouncing on her as soon as he could.

Sakura fell backwards, arms pinned on either side as her lover nuzzled her chest that was barely held back by a red bra. He slid a finger under the front clasp, the fabric piece quickly becoming undone for him to see her beautiful chest. A hot tongue slid along her bare breast, shivering under the small touches Sasuke left on her delicate skin. Every movement of his hands on her breasts was intense and calculated. He knew exactly how to make her respond to his ministrations. Her arms were still at his mercy, large hands firmly clasped around her wrists above her head. Truthfully, she didn’t mind the simple binding, it only increased the thrill in her core from all of the sensations riddling her exposed skin. She buckled against him as his tongue moved lower, stopping at her pant line and eyes looking upwards to meet hers. Realizing she hadn’t breathed for a few seconds, she took a deep breath while he took the momentary lapse in defenses as the signal he needed to let go of her arms and get her pants off. Making quick work of the button of her jeans, he pulled the fabric out of his way and let it join her shirt on the floor. Sakura managed to wiggle her bra off before her arms were pinned again, but this time at the sides of her torso.

Sakura wanted to touch his skin, but Sasuke was completely in control of the situation, leaning in for a kiss that she knew would be her downfall. Their lips met, sliding along each other, tongues searching and exploring one another as his body became flush with hers. Sasuke momentarily let his guard down in their kiss, enough time for her to tug his shirt up and over his head while he looked a little dazed by the sudden movement. It was amazing how fast his natural pheromones affected her, the rush of sensations adding to the excitement. Their shared kiss ignited their passions, his teeth a little longer than normal, but still fully in control of himself as he dived back onto her naked form. 

Moans escaped her lips as he sucked from her breast, a hand firmly squeezing and caressing the other. He gave her bosom plenty of attention, her buckling body a sign of the immense pleasure he could bring her just with this. It wasn’t enough though, he wanted more, greedily working his way back down her torso the apex between her thighs. Pushing her legs apart, he exposed her pussy to his welcoming mouth, letting his tongue search between her soaking folds until it found where he wanted to be. Pushing forward, he started to fuck her with his tongue, her hands finding purchased in his dark locks. 

“Ah! Fuck! Sasuke!” She was borderline screaming from the pleasure his tongue brought upon her core, feeling the building tension in her muscles as he made swift work of her sweaty form. It was too good to maintain any modesty, yelling at the Uchiha to _ fuck her harder  _ and to  _ let her come.  _ After a few more demands, he thoroughly complied as her body was brought to a pile of noodles from the hard orgasm that shattered her thoughts. Her tense muscles suddenly unknotted, painfully exploding with pleasure from her toes to her head. She could feel how much she came as Sasuke’s head moved back, his slightly elongated tongue licking off the remnants of her pleasure from his lips. 

Sasuke wasted no time in jumping off the bed, and pulling his pants completely off, to expose a rock hard length just beading for her. He grabbed and moved her sore body to the edge of the bed, pulling her legs upwards to lay against his sweaty chest. Red was swirling in his irises, but he seemed to be more in control this time from what Sakura could tell. His breathing was ragged, face flush just as hers was. Pulling her ass slightly off the surface of the bed, he angled his dick to find her slick folds, pushing their way through into her sex as deep as he could. She could feel him hit the deepest point inside of her pussy, pleasure twisting with pain as he started to thrust in and out. Her voice was straining from the intense near-screams she couldn’t stop emitting. The drug-like effect started to kick in while he began to thrust as hard and fast as he could, jackhammering into her as her body heated up even more. Her mind was teetering on the verge of passing out as intense pheromones mixed with the sweaty galore of them fucking. He was hanging on just enough to retain mostly human features. His teeth couldn’t help but lengthen and his eyes were blood red. This time, he wanted to avoid causing too many bites by keeping his mouth farther away than he had prior with Sakura. 

She could feel every thrust, every slap of his balls against her when he dick plunged in and out of her as deep as he could possibly go. Her hands clawed upwards, searching for something to steady themselves on, but not able to reach the strained abs that taunted her vision. There was some frantic, demanding about the way he moved, not wanting to lose any time as he pounded into her tight pussy. Sakura felt her muscles start to tighten, toes curling as she felt her release catching up to her as his movements sped up. 

With a slight twist and an impossibly deeper thrust, she was seeing stars. Sasuke joined her shortly after as his seed spilled inside her, walls milking him for everything that he had. Sakura moaned out through her orgasm, loudly voicing her pleasure, while Sasuke grunted and groaned, teeth aching to clamp down on her soft, luscious skin. Needing to take a breather, he leaned forward, slowly pulling out from her sex, careful to keep his teeth away as they laid there in post-sex bliss. A hand started to brush through his raven hair, alerting the Uchiha and looking upward to see the exhausted smile on his lover’s face. She held the most beautiful face he knew, one that he couldn’t take his eyes off of even if he tried.

“I love you, Sakura…” He whispered the sentiment, her eyes widening and then softly crinkling back down with a wide smile. She let her hand continue searching through his soft locks, lips trying to find a response.

“I… I love you too Sasuke,” she murmured out, hot breath fanning on his features. His face nuzzled into her breasts, teeth tucked away from the unmarred flesh, enjoying the sensation of her skin against his face. 

“It’ll only be a couple days. Are you gonna be okay?” she whispered while petting his head. His mind might have been corrupted by hormones and her beauty, but he nodded. 

“Yeah… I think I will.”

. . .

**The next day**

She felt accomplished, items mostly packed away in the cardboard boxes littering her, soon to be former, apartment’s walls. It had been a long day of work since she arrived back from up North and everyone she cared about. There were a few items still out, but they were to be transported in bubble wrap without a box shell. Feeling happy with her work, Sakura took a swig from her water bottle before resting on her old couch. It was going to be donated by her landlord since she didn’t need to add more large furniture to Sasuke’s house. Everything was falling into place, her mood levelling out the more she evaluated her situation.

Sakura had demons, but they were tapering away, quietly leaving as her life turned upwards at a sharp pace. Sasuke brought a lot of love back into her life where it had all seemed but to vanish - solely focusing on her studies and monotone life in the city. She was eternally thankful for Naruto for inviting her back home, giving her another chance at happiness with the boy she fell in love with all those years ago. 

A smile grew across her face, letting her closed water bottle, and phone, fall on the sofa next to her. The once dark, dreary space was lighting up for her as her eyes laid over the little that was left. As she stood up to collect some more small items, a knock sounded at her door.

Sakura assumed it was her landlady, as the woman stated she would be back by with some additional paperwork once she had time to meet up with her. She walked over to greet the older woman, slowly opening the door to a completely different figure than she expected.

The man had short black hair, stone cold onyx eyes, and a large slash disfiguring one side of his face. Sakura couldn’t recall ever seeing this individual, but he bore a disturbing resemblance to Sasuke, and that stabbed her heart as she unconsciously took a step back from the mysterious man. His eyes narrowed, red and gold swirling in those cold irises that made Sakura’s stomach drop. No words escaped the man’s lips, a deep inhale breaking the silence stretching between them.

_ Fuck, he’s a werewolf. _

Knowing  _ something _ was wrong, Sakura dashed back, trying to close the door as she put as much space as she could between herself and the man who stood at her doorstep. The stranger pushed forward, letting himself inside her soon-to-be-former home, and closing the door behind him with an off-putting calm demeanor etched into his face. As he crept closer to her terrified form, his features remained stoic - to a frighteningly level. Sakura’s eyes scanned the boxed up room for something, anything, she could use against the unwelcome guest. Cursing as she noticed all of her kitchen utensils were packed away, she spotted an umbrella near her that she knew had a metal spikey top to it.

Diving for the long object, the stranger grabbed her by the ankle, grip wrenching down on the skinny limb, her body tripping and landing onto the cold ground. Pain struck through her leg, the man pulling unbelievably hard on her ankle as he tripped her. Sakura knew her leg was  _ utterly fucked up _ from the crack she could hear upon her painful fall. Fighting through the pain, she stretched out her fingers to the handle of the umbrella, barely managing to grip the thing and turning to lash out at the unwelcome stranger. The top of the umbrella barely scratched him since he could move faster than anything she could attempt on a good day - not to mention her surely twisted and cracked ankle.

She noticed a small bloody scratch appear on his unscared cheek from her umbrella, his hand firmly grabbing and crushing the object in his grasp only seconds later. His eyes were morphing into blood red, resembling Sasuke’s  _ but so much more terrifying _ than her lover’s. The man lunged again, trying to grab at the pinkette’s clothing, but she was nimble enough to squirm away from his tugs. She just needed to get to her phone.

_ I need to call the police. I don’t have anything to take him down. _

Her phone was on the couch past the unknown man. Sakura bit her lip. No ideas immediately came to her, besides the obvious one that should have come first - scream. Letting out a sharp echo through her apartment, the man moved quickly to silence her shriek. Sakura was determined to not go down without a fight, letting her voice carry as the stranger finally managed a grasp of her shirt. His fingers were morphed into claws and easily punctured the soft fabric. A couple of the tips pushed into her delicate skin, the next yell from her full of pain.

She wasn’t sure why any of this was happening.

_ Why was this guy so bent on attacking me?  _

**_Killing_ ** _ me? _

_ Why does he look like Sasuke?  _

_ Why is a werewolf in her home? _

Forcing the tips of his claws further into her chest, he pulled her towards his half-shifted form. His eyes were blood red and focused solely on  _ her _ . Sakura knew she was bleeding from how intensely the man had pushed his sharp points into her torso. It was becoming excruciatingly painful and too much for her to focus on fighting. She wanted to scream even more, but no one was coming to help.  _ Where’s the landlady? She was supposed to be here!  _

He managed to pull her closer to his body, his teeth so close to her neck as she felt his breath fan on her hot skin. Not sure of what he planned to do to her body, she tried squirming out of his grasp but his nails only dug deeper into his pale flesh. The small holes in her shirt had grown into massive tears with blood pooling in the fabric from her wounds. The dark haired man used his free hand to grab something from his pocket, Sakura able to turn enough to see a black cloth in his other hand. 

_ Shit! _

Moving even more in his grasp, she tried to roll away from the stranger, and what she assumed was a tie, a gag, or  _ something else _ to get her under control. Determination and adrenaline coursing through her veins, she clawed back while screaming at the top of her lungs. Her brain wasn’t registering the pain from her wounds, nor the pain in her hands from clawing and the sharpness growing in her throat from straining her voice. 

The only thing in her mind was to survive.

His arm moved close to her face again, moving her head back in their tangle of limbs, but not fast enough for him to grab at her other shoulder. Unable to move her arms back to claw at him while pinned in this way, she bit down on the arm across her chest, piercing the skin with the hardest bite she could muster. The stranger jerked back, apparently not anticipating that attack, letting Sakura move out of his hold and scoot her ass away along the floor. He pulled the rag back out, lunging one more time at her tired body that struggled to move back with the blood pouring from her wounds and useless leg. With the amount of training she had, she knew she needed to cover her wound before she passed out from blood loss.

Her unfriendly visitor had a... similar plan. After getting a better grip on her body, he quickly wrapped the cloth around her delicate face, some blood smearing on her features as it grazed her shirt before landing on her mouth and nose. The second the smell hit her nostrils, she knew it was too late as she suddenly passed out.

. . .

Sasuke stood out in the woods with Naruto, the breeze making the wind chill just a little bit colder than it already was. Pink filled his senses as he thought about his love being away for a few days. He was trying his best to cope, but seeing her leave this morning was harder than he thought it would be. His wolf was still upset about it, and he tried to keep his composure as he left for work shortly after seeing her be whisked away. Snapping back to his current reality, Sasuke noticed the way Naruto looked at some lumps of fur on the ground.

Naruto picked up on some tracks, finding a group of bear cubs without a mother. The blonde picked one up with a giant smile across his face. 

“You think Hinata would let me keep one?”

“You’re such a dumbass.” Sasuke looked around, not able to smell any other bears in the vicinity. He was grateful that he was probably safe from being mauled by a bear, but they still had to deal with where to place the cubs. Naruto put the scared creature back down, the other little cubs not sure what to make of the  _ apparent _ humans. They knew something was off by the willingness of them to approach the two rangers.

Naruto went digging in his jacket for his radio, pulling the black device to call in the cubs to Kakashi back at their station. Sasuke felt his cell phone vibrate in his pocket, pulling the small thing out he read the name on the screen.  _ Sakura _ . He swiped up to answer.

“Hey, how’s it going?” 

“ _ Oh you little misguided pup. _ ”

Sasuke froze, feeling the dreaded shivers roll up his spine from the voice on the other end. It was definitely not the sweet sound of Sakura, but one of a certain man that irritated every nerve in his body.

“Why the fuck do you have her phone?” Sasuke hissed out, his voice low and extremely angry. Naruto turned around, quickly putting away the radio as he watched his friend’s temper flare up. 

“Teme?” Naruto knew something wasn’t right from the way Sasuke spoke, and the way his eyes had quickly changed to a bright red.  _ That’s new. _

“Oh my, such impatience from someone so young and naive. You might want to watch your tone, pup. If you want to see your little pink haired woman, you might want to listen to what I have to say,” Madara spoke calmly with what seemed to be some amusement in his voice. Sasuke was trying his best not to slam the phone and immediately fly to his lover, but something was obviously incredibly wrong with this entire situation. 

“What the fuck do you want,  _ Madara _ ?”

Naruto froze, eyes widening at the news that Sasuke was speaking to Madara. The blonde moved closer, his enhanced hearing trying to pick up on what the older man said.

“Simple. Come to my location, and have a little chat with me. You can have the woman when we are done. We have some rather… important details to discuss,” Madara elaborated in his authoritative tone. “This is purely clan business, pup. I hope you can understand that I can’t have some new alpha pup running around without learning their place.  _ Understand? _ ”

Sasuke didn’t have time to mum over what Madara said and how the hell he even knew about the alpha situation, but his anger, and need to protect Sakura, was more in control than anything else at the moment.  __ “Madara stop playing these stupid games. If you wanna talk, we can talk.”

“I’ll leave you with this. You might not understand what you are, because clearly your father had not bothered to explain the situation, but you are obviously an alpha. I can sense it, and I know you can too. Don’t I just grate your nerves? Do I get under your skin by even being nearby? Does my voice send you into a rage? Have you not wondered why this would be the case?”

That was the confirmation that Sasuke dreaded. Madara knew. Somehow the person he wanted least to know about this knew - and he had done something to Sakura. Sasuke’s human form was held on by a single thread at this point.

“You’re a pretentious asshole. Of course you piss me off everytime you are involved,” Sasuke retorted. Naruto paled, shaking his head at those words. The blonde knew those words were a challenge, and that’s not a thing you do to your clan head. 

“Silly pup,” Madara chuckled before regaining his composure. “I’ll send you my location. You have 48 hours to get here, before I lose my patience. You wouldn’t want me to dispose of your woman right? I’ll see you by then, alpha pup.”

The line went dead. Sasuke pulled the phone back and ground his teeth in the rage that was consuming him. Pink hair filled his vision as fury filled him and coated his features. Teeth were quickly growing, nails elongating and hands growing hairier and larger. Naruto knew his friend was losing control, and needed to help him regain his composure before he totally lost it. The red in his eyes was blinding and worse than any other werewolf he had seen. He needed to help his closest friend.

“Hey, teme please calm down…” Naruto was cut off as the raven-haired man started to shift as a roar left his now pronounced jaw.  _ Fuck, he’s losing it big time.  _ “Sasuke, you idiot listen! We can figure this out if you LISTEN TO ME!”

Naruto’s voice rolled into a roar, Sasuke only pausing for a second before lunging at his best friend. Unprepared for the sudden attack, Naruto was easily knocked down, air pushed out of his lungs by the force of the raven-haired man’s brutal impact. Hovering between his full werewolf form and human skin, Sasuke was in incredible pain as he shoved Naruto further into the dirt, rage fueling him. His thoughts were muddled, consumed by the unbridled hatred for Madara and his unbridled rage over what had happened to Sakura.

“SASUKE!” Naruto roared once again, forcing his friend away and grabbing him by his shirt collar, his own blue eyes covered in a golden sheen. He was treading his own line between skin and fur, angry but feeling his closest friend’s pain. 

“Calm down.”

Sasuke let out a grunt, red eyes still narrowed in mistrust.

“I… I’ll help you. We’ll go get her, together.” Naruto swallowed. He was also in pain from the thought of one of his best friends being hurt… or worse. “Now, go back to skin and we’ll tell Kakashi an emergency came up. Okay teme?”

Sasuke didn’t immediately answer, but eventually nodded as his warped face started to slowly recede back to normal. Red eyes transformed to onyx, deep breaths leaving his mouth as Naruto finally let go of his shirt. They both fell to the ground, slightly exhausted from the quick altercation, the bear cubs from earlier hiding in a dirt burrow with a large bear hovering behind them. It knew they were wolves, watching their every move before walking away with its babies.

“At least that solved itself…” Naruto rubbed his chest, still feeling the force of Sasuke’s attack in his sternum. The Uchiha dusted off the dirt from his uniform, standing up to run back to the jeep. Naruto heard his quiet words before he too followed at full speed.

“Let’s get Sakura back.”

. . .

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope I didn't upset anybody with some of the sudden developments ( ͡°- ͡°)  
> This chapter was tricky to write because a lot of things started shorter and grew into different situations and character interactions. I tried to do a lot more character juggling in this chapter instead of just Sasuke and Sakura. I find it difficult to make sure everyone feels "realistic" in a way. Naruto is also like the best friend ever x1000. I tried to keep him true to the the source material in a way, by making him very defensive and protective of his friends and more laid back than the others can be. Ino is also a wolf! Surprise? I mean I never hinted at it because it was a later on decision haha Also yeah there's a coffee near me that does these pink lattes using beetroot! It's where I got the idea for the story lol Also, action scenes are my weakness so i'm sorry if it wasn't that great. I still didn't want Sakura going down without a fight. I didn't explicitly say who our mysterious stranger was, but I think it's pretty obvious from the description and the Uchiha family. I think a more prudent question is **why?**
> 
> I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter.   
> Time to rev up this story <3


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A sharp scream entered his ears, his body flinching from the unpleasant sound. When he realized who it was, his heart sank. It has to be her. There’s no doubt, but how? Naruto didn’t hear anything from his preoccupation with putting magazines away, but the Uchiha knew he heard her - loud and clear. As hard as he thought it was possible to, he screamed out her name mentally, hoping that by some miracle she could hear him even at such a distance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Update time! Hope you enjoy some filler stuff before we get to the mess coming up <3
> 
> **Trigger warning: This chapter contains some context regarding sexual assault. Please be aware of this before reading. Thanks.**
> 
> _It seems no matter where I look, it's always gone  
>  With you, I know I'll never win  
> And it's hard to say where it went so wrong  
> And failed me in the end_

. . .

Sakura woke up in a dark, small room. There was a dull pain in the back of her head, her entire body feeling incredibly sluggish. She tried to move her hand, soothe the ache in her skull, but she couldn’t. It took a few seconds before the realization hit her - her hands were tied together behind her back. Wiggling around on the soft surface, she couldn’t get her hands free. Something hard was holding them together, not quite cutting into her skin, but very uncomfortable nonetheless. It was barely lit enough in the small space for her to notice the disheveled state of her clothes. The pink sweater she wore had many pulls and small tears along the surface. Her leggings were mostly intact, but there were also some small tears along those as well. 

She tried to recall what happened before the current predicament.  _ I was in my apartment… I remember moving some things into boxes… I answered the door but I don’t remember what happened after that. What the fuck… Sasuke!  _ Her brain was slowly putting everything back together, but panic started to seep in when she realized that her phone and wallet were no longer in her pockets.  _ Why am I here… Why am I tied up? What the fuck is happening? Does Sasuke know where I am? _

The silence didn’t remain for long as the door across the room slowly unlocked and opened. A tall man, around the same height as Sasuke, with an eerily similar appearance greeted her with a frown.  _ It’s him! The guy who attacked me! _ He had short black hair, a massive scar littering the left side of his face. All of his clothes were dark grey with black accents. He had something strapped to his thigh, not a gun, but some type of tool. He looked over her form, before she broke the silence first.

“Where am I?! What the hell is going on?!” Sakura was furious, trying to wiggle herself closer but wasn’t having much success. The man didn’t give an immediate answer, just opening the door completely, letting light fill the space. It was a little too bright for Sakura’s eyes, squinting as he moved closer.

“Why aren’t you answering me?!” She tried her best to stay calm, not letting the panic in her mind seep into her voice. The man stopped moving closer, leaving some distance between himself and the large bed she was resting on.

“It’s not my job. I’m just making sure you woke up, and you seem well enough since you are yelling at me,” the man responded, monotone and no emotion visible from his words. He slowly turned away, making his way back out the door. Sakura felt the panic well up inside of her, crying out at the man who closed the door. She was back in near-complete darkness. 

She tried to pull at the ties behind her back again, but nothing would come loose. After some wiggling around on the plush bed, she stopped when nothing she did seemed to change the situation. Her breathing sped up, rapidly turning into shallow pants, anxiety setting in and taking over her mind. Tears started to spill from her eyes, the anger she felt only minutes ago all but gone from her body. Balling up as much as she could in her current position, she slowly sobbed in the dark space.

. . .

The airplane trip was the slowest one Sasuke had ever experienced. He couldn’t stay still. His feet constantly moving on the floor, fingers tapping away as he blared some music through his headphones to calm his frayed nerves. Naruto had to save the poor stewardess from being mauled when she tried to hit on the Uchiha, making a comment about his looks as he worried about his mate. The angry music piercing his ears wasn’t ceasing the worry in his mind. Madara was a dangerous man to mess with, and Sasuke was fully aware of it.

There were stories in his pact about the things that he had done. He wasn’t sure how true they might be, but they were still scary enough to keep people from messing with the older man. He heard tales growing up of the man who never seemed to age, a relic from the past when wolves were wilder,  _ some would argue freer _ . Some said he would strike down anyone who he thought might become an alpha, challenge his authority. That’s what had Sasuke so on edge. He wasn’t sure what the man would do to his lover. There were a million possibilities floating through his head when Naruto poked his arm.

“Eh teme, you want some chips? The stewardess offered some,” Naruto quietly asked, keeping in mind the ferocious temper that was seething within his best friend. The blonde didn’t miss the way Sasuke’s eyes still had a red tint to them, the colour failing to fade as it had before. Shrugging it off, he placed some chips on the table in front of the Uchiha before he could argue.

Uncharacteristically, Sasuke said nothing to combat his best friend. 

“You know, I’ve never been to the city before. Maybe after we get Sakura we can go on a vacation? The three of us could do some exploring like the old days!” That earned a response at last from Sasuke.

“It wouldn’t be a vacation if you were there, dobe.” His voice was flat, not changing in tone between words. Naruto figured a response of any kind was better than nothing.

“Well I guess I would just be in the way of you two now.” Naruto laughed before continuing. “I’ll just run off with Hinata somewhere. It’s about time I had a break since you took off for a week to fu…”

A sharp red glare turned his way before he could finish the sentence. Sasuke’s eyes were redder than before, almost glowing under the lowlight of the airplane. He slowly pulled the headphones off since Naruto seemed so hellbent on talking to him right now.

“We find Sakura first, and you can joke all you fucking want dobe.” Naruto noticed how sharp the points of Sasuke’s teeth were with each passing word that left his mouth. “I’m not in the mood right now to fuck around. We have to deal with Madara, and that’s going to cause it’s own set of problems for my family.”

“You could take over as alpha though. Finally get the family into a more positive light compared to other clans and all that shit. I think you’d make a great alpha teme.” Naruto meant every word of it too.

Sasuke looked out the window, noting his reflection in the window. He took a few deep breaths to control his appearance, noticing the wolf trying its best to rear its ugly head at a very inconvenient time. Pink filled his thoughts, but he used images of her to keep his temper down. It helped to think of Sakura speaking to him in the moment, telling him to relax and picking at him in a sweet, playful way. A red tint still remained in his eyes, but it was better than what it was before.

“Are the red eyes an Uchiha thing?” Naruto whispered, not wanting to have too many eavesdroppers. A big benefit of being wolves was their unusually good hearing, letting them whisper in such low tones that no human could discern their words.

Sasuke shrugged. “Not sure. Dad doesn’t have red eyes but Madara does. It might be an alpha thing since we share that in common.” 

Something popped in Naruto’s head.

“Does your family know about you two being mates? That’s always a big deal for my family when someone takes a mate. Hell, my mom is itching to throw the biggest mating party ever for me and Hinata even though it’s not official or anything… I think she just wants grandpups.” Naruto moaned out, annoyed by his mother’s persistence but still loved her nonetheless.

Sasuke’s mind wandered on that topic. There was no doubt that Sakura and him were mates. Hell, being apart was very difficult for him - even without the thought of an angry alpha wolf who kidnapped his mate.

_ Ding _

“Attention passengers, we will now start our descent. The weather outside is a warm 75 degrees even as the sun has already set. Your baggage will be located on terminal F in the…”

Sasuke couldn’t give any less fucks about what the captain drone on about.

A sharp scream entered his ears, his body flinching from the unpleasant sound. When he realized who it was, his heart sank.  _ It has to be her. There’s no doubt, but how? _ Naruto didn’t hear anything from his preoccupation with putting magazines away, but the Uchiha knew he heard her - loud and clear. As hard as he thought it was possible to, he screamed out her name mentally, hoping that by some miracle she could hear him even at such a distance.

_ “SAKURA!” _

. . .

It was very dark.

So, so, dark.

Time was not really making any sense.

It was also cold.

Oh, how she hated the cold.

There was a dull ache where her hands remained cuffed.

When did the man come by to see her?

Had it been minutes?

Hours?

Who knows.

_ Sasuke. _

Her eyes teared up at the mere thought of his name.

She shook her head vehemently.

_ I’m better than this. _

_ I’m stronger than this. _

Her eyes peered around as much as possible in the dark.

Her ears picked up a sound from outside the door.

She wasn’t sure how, but she knew she did.

_ Fuck, it’s cold. _

. . .

The door opened again, but it wasn’t the man with the scar. It was someone she dreaded seeing this entire time.  _ Madara. _

Sakura tried moving away from the long-haired man, but something was keeping her body from moving very quickly. She assumed it must have been something they drugged her with, something extremely sedative, her body failing to move as she willed on the bed she was stuck on. Madara didn’t seem to mind her panic, as he very much looked to be enjoying her distress by the glint in his now-red eyes. She was disgusted by how similar they were to Sasuke’s. The man under those eyes was nothing like her kind lover - who felt bad when he even accidentally harmed her in the slightest. A large hand grabbed her uncovered thigh, pulling her body down towards his, wrists chafing in the metal cuffs.

Her eyes widened as the man staring back at her took a deep breath. His face seemed to fill with delight, a smile creeping across his smug expression. He leaned forward, letting his tongue scrape against her neck, the rough texture sliding it’s way down to her collarbone. Sakura was panicking internally, but her body seemed to be betraying her every wish. A noise escaped her lips, her brain revolted by the sounds it was hearing. When he pulled away, Madara let out a small chuckle.

“Oh you poor thing. Can’t seem to control your own body, right?” Madara pushed some of his unbound hair back behind his shoulder, moving his other hand to unbutton the dress shirt he wore to reveal a scarred, muscular torso. “I can see why he likes you so much though. You’re one very attractive human. You give off such a sweet smell when you are scared…”

When Madara spoke, Sakura could see the tips of dangerously sharp teeth in the man’s mouth. Terror ran through her body, painful sensations running down her spine through her limbs. No matter how much she tried to move, everything her body did was slow or still. Her mind, and heart, raced to find a way out of this. She wasn’t sure why Madara was here, but, judging from the way he pushed his shirt aside, it wasn’t for anything she wanted. 

“Little one… calm down,” his voice was low and gravelly, taking another lick freely of the skin between her breasts. She internally screamed as the man did anything he wanted. Her mind was exploding as she roared for him to stop but nothing left her lips. A calloused palm touched her skin, sliding up her torn sleeve to claw open her sweater more. A single tear slid down her cheek, Madara paying no mind to it as he leaned forward again for another taste, but something roared into her own mind.

“SAKURA!” Sakura was startled, knowing  _ that _ voice but not where it came from. Her head could barely turn as she struggled to find the source as Madara looked back up to meet her eyes.

“I can hear the annoying pup… You two already have that kind of relationship then.” He paused, contemplation across his face, before diving down and taking a sharp bite out of the exposed skin atop her breast. Her voice cracked, noise surging through her body as it broke through despite the drugs in her system. A cry filled the room, the older man slowly releasing his fangs from her bloodied skin. Licking his lips of her blood, a disgusting smile graced his lips before standing back up again. Madara smothered down his clothing, making himself a little more presentable despite his actions just now. Sakura was externally speechless from everything swirling around her, but the rage inside was blooming very heatedly. 

“I don’t like to spoil surprises, but if your mate doesn’t follow my requests, I'm afraid you have a new home for a while…” he moved towards the door, smirk gracing his face as he turned back around to see the pinkette before leaving.

“But of course, I would love a new toy and you’re too pretty to kill right now…”

Sakura felt the dread creep into her bones as the Uchiha left the room. Her breast hurt, a lot, from the bite - nothing like the powerfully pleasant sensations that Sasuke sent through her system. This was just pain, the kind you would expect from a set of fangs piercing into you. 

Her body was still too sluggish to slide back up to a more comfortable position, the little energy she had effectively drained from the encounter she endured just now. Madara was someone she did not want touching her, and he  _ violated _ her.

She wasn’t sure what other word would be more apt.

_ Please get her soon Sasuke... _

. . .

“I really thought you were going to hurt that chick with how obvious she was.” Naruto set his bag down on the chair just inside their hotel room as the Uchiha threw his luggage across the room. Sasuke snarled loudly, not much different from a wild wolf as he pulled his phone out to constantly check for any messages. He wasn’t in the mood to talk to anyone, let alone another woman attempting to hit on him while he was in such a state. Naruto sighed as he knew better than to try to reason with an annoyed Sasuke. He pulled out his own phone to see a message from Hinata.

**_Is everything alright? Have you gotten Sakura back yet?_ **

Naruto smiled softly as he read his love’s message. She was a truly caring woman, always asking about everyone else first.

_ Not yet. We finally got to the hotel for tonight and I hope Sasuke makes it until morning without shifting because DAMN.  _

**_He’s just worried, love. You would be just as wound up if it was the same for you._ **

Naruto blinked, staring at the message while the Uchiha took his shirt off and headed to the shower first.  _ Yeah you’re probably right… Can you keep a big secret Hina? _

**_Of course, love._ **

_ This whole situation is crazy. Sasuke is clearly the next alpha of his pact, and Madara kidnapped Sakura to drag him over here. I hope Sakura is okay because I know alpha fights are terrible usually… _

It took a couple of minutes to answer, but Naruto could see Hinata was typing according to the app. Sasuke must have turned the shower as hot as it could go as steam started to flow into the main hotel room. 

**_Everything will work itself out, Naruto. Sasuke is a good guy and you two will bring her home. Promise you’ll keep an eye on Sasuke? You’re his best friend so just make sure he is okay. I’m sure he’s very stressed, love._ **

_ That’s putting it mildly ノಠ_ಠノ _

**_Get some rest love, it’s late there. Sweet dreams!_ **

_ Same. Good night Hina <3 _

. . .

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Madara is a bastard.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> His teeth might have been long, his eyes might have been a deep shade of red, but his face looked despaired. Naruto couldn’t recall any other time he had seen his best friend look like this. His own feelings wanted to swell to the surface at just how… sad Sasuke looked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feels. I have them.
> 
> _It's better when you're with me, but that's better left unsaid_   
>  _It's better when I'm empty, but I still let you in_

. . .

“This fucking sucks…” mumbled through the dark bedroom, monotone walls and adornments in the small space. The man leaned back on his bed, reading a book that he had the privilege of getting the last time he was allowed to go shopping. There was a lot racing in his mind, at least much more than normal, and it was irritating him to say the least. 

He didn’t want to kidnap somebody, let alone a cute young girl with the saddest green eyes he had ever seen. It was too familiar, too much for him as he started to remember things from before everything went wrong. 

_Her eyes look like Rin’s…_

Before he could get too sentimental, the scarred man shook his head and continued reading the mundane book. He was trying desperately to distract himself from the horrid things he had been a part of these past couple of days. Obito wasn’t a bad guy in the traditional sense, just stuck in a position where he couldn’t say no to Madara. 

Many things had transpired in the last few years for him. When he realized he might be a budding alpha, he thought it would be smart to talk to the current alpha. _I was such a dumbass._ Madara didn’t take kindly to Obito realizing this fact, so much so that he made a very strong point that he wouldn’t let Obito take over the pact. Under the constant threat of Madara’s wrath, Obito settled down and stepped away from the pact - choosing a life of servitude at the cost of protecting the one he cared about the most. 

But this time, Madara went too far. 

Obito hated himself for how low he had fallen for helping Madara. His mind tried to rationalize it - _you’re protecting Rin -_ but at the expense of hurting another young woman? He was going to be sick. His stomach physically hurt from knowing what he had helped Madara do. It hurt even more when he thought of things Madara said over dinner.

 _She is such a cute little thing, isn’t she? It would be nice to have a plaything for a while before I need to get rid of her. I see what the pup likes about her, very delicious blood running under that skin._ Madara proceeded to cut his steak with a dark smile on his face. _Can you assure me that you can take care of what’s left?_

Obito knew what he meant, acknowledging that he had cleaned up messes before - but they were generally ill fated feral wolves not young women who had gotten caught up in his schemes. The guilt was riddling his bones. Glancing at the clock in the corner, Obito knew that Madara would be out on one of his ‘business meetings’ at this hour of the night. The eye roll over that thought could be felt through the room. Grabbing his jacket, he left the small bedroom, slipping out of the apartment and headed down to the annex.

. . .

Curled up in a ball, Sakura tried to stay warm with the limited clothing she had and the inability to cover herself with the bedsheets. She kind of had to pee but knew she was going to have to hold it until morning when the scarred man would let her relieve herself. Her sorrow was spiraling as she laid in complete dark silence. She knew she was losing herself the longer she stayed in this situation, the longer she was isolated and chained to a bed. Sasuke’s yell resonated deeply into her bones, knowing he would be there soon but not sure when.

_Is this what being mated means? It hurts. It hurts thinking about how alone I am without Sasuke here…_

Sakura knew she had issues with isolation, loneliness, but she always thought she could get over it. However, it wasn’t that simple. There had always been a nagging feeling in the back of Sakura’s head that was unpleasant and unwelcome. When she would be away from her friends and family, it would just poke at her until she wanted to collapse, but powering through university helped her not focus on it. She never understood what this bundle of emotions was or why it always irked her, but things were starting to fall into place in her mind.

_Could it be…?_

Sakura thought about everything that had happened since she returned to her childhood home. The intense feelings she had shared with Sasuke were some of the strongest and fulfilling she had ever experienced. When they were kids, teenagers, she spent all of her free time with Naruto and Sasuke - happy to spend every waking hour with the two closest friends in her life. That bond, their mate bond, did it start then? Sakura rolled slightly, hands still chained down to the head of the bed, limbs aching from staying in the same position for so long. If the mate bond started so early, they might have not noticed, growing up alongside a powerful bond already being forged in their younger years. She didn’t know the most about this subject, but it would explain why she became so inconsolable when she moved away. Realization not hitting her until she got to her new home and school, sobbing in her one bedroom apartment. Things got better over time, friends at school, tons of homework, but she didn’t have her boys alongside her. The mate bond was powerful, sneaky, all-consuming, possibly hurting her right now but powering her along in hopes that her mate would arrive soon.

 _When we get home… Our future… We need to make this all set in stone… I just need… I just need Sasuke home with me._ Her eyes welled up again. _I just need him back. I want to touch him. I want to kiss him. I want to watch stupid movies. I want to have coffee with him… I…_

A rustle at the door spooked her, the large metal thing slowly opening to a figure wearing a black hoodie. He slowly closed the door behind him, flipping the light on - momentarily blinding Sakura as she had become accustomed to the darkness. When she could finally adjust her eyes, the large scars on the man’s face alarmed her, her whole body flinching as she recognized her kidnapper. He held an uneasy expression, looking around like something was truly bothering him. After a few seconds, a sigh left his lips before he spoke.

“Look, I feel like shit for what i’ve done and I wanted to do something for you as a gesture of good faith…” He stopped on the side of the bed, kneeling down with an outstretched hand. “I can link you two together. Don’t ask, but I can. I overheard Madara mentioning you guys share a mindmeld and I know you want to talk to Sasuke.”

Tears emerged instantly. 

“Please…?” was all she could muster with her limited energy and intense emotions flowing through her exhausted form. The man kept a stoic non-smile and nodded before reaching upwards to wrap his palm around her chained arm.

“Just think out to him, it should be enough to have me here as a link.”

_Sasuke! Please it’s me!_

_. . ._

**_Sakura? Is it really you?_ **

. . .

Sasuke jerked awake, the sound of Sakura’s voice pulling him out of his sleep. He looked around and didn’t see her beautiful pink hair and jade eyes, but knew that was _her_ voice. Naruto continued to snore loudly in the other bed, oblivious to everything happening around him as he slept away. Sasuke focused, trying to think of her pleasant voice again and reached out to her as much as he could mentally.

_Oh my god it really worked… Sasuke… Oh my Sasuke…_

It might have been the closest Sasuke had ever come to completely breaking down in his entire life. The way Sakura’s voice sounded so _pained_ struck a chord deep in his heart. It might have been the mating that made her voice so much more painful - but it was _real_ and it was _her_. 

**_Sakura, I'm here, i’m here._ ** Sitting up in bed, he buried his face in his hands as he thought as hard as he could towards his dearly beloved, wet tears gathering in his palms. **_Are you okay?_ **

_I’m okay. It’s been rough… but i’m okay._

**_How are you doing this? We’re not near each other like back home, how?_ **

_There’s a man here who is holding my arm and says he’s linking us. I don’t know but he’s trying to help I guess._ She paused for a moment. _He said his name is Obito and he’s sorry._

Obito? Sasuke thought back and remembered a happy Uchiha with that name. He always hung out around Itachi when he was younger, but he disappeared one day with Madara. No one really knew why. Sasuke pushed that to the side for now, relishing this contact with his mate. 

He could hear sniffles through the link, knowing all too well that she was in tears as they spoke over their thoughts. His wolf was frustrated, furious, wanting to burst out at the sound - but he knew that would have to wait one more night. Refocusing himself he kept as calm as he could considering the situation.

**_Madara. Has he hurt you? Has he done anything to you right now?_ **

There was a worrying pause. _I’m not hurt. I’m strapped to this bed but i’m not physically hurt. He has come by but he sends Obito for most things._ It almost sounded like another voice was trying to interrupt but it was too faint to make out. Sasuke figured it must have been Obito speaking to her.

_He said I don’t have much time left to talk to you… I don’t know what to say... I miss you. I love you. I don’t ever want to part again. I can’t stop thinking about you. Maybe it’s the mate thing, but I just can’t hold it together as well as normal… I… Sasuke please…_

**_Sakura. I will get you back soon. We meet with Madara in the morning. I promise I will get you back. I promise, I promise, I promise._ **

Another sniffle reverberated over the link, Sasuke clenching his teeth as her pain flowed through his system. She was truly hurting wherever she was, and an angry wolf wasn’t going to hide much longer under the surface of the raven-haired man. Sakura must have noticed when she spoke again.

 _Sasuke, please calm down… I can feel how angry you are. I’m still safe and okay. I believe in you. I love you… I…_ The link stopped as she tried to speak - only his own thoughts left in his head, leaning up from his wet palms. A hot tear fell down his face as onyx eyes were quickly enveloped in red. Teeth started to sharpen and length, his face returning to his palms as he desperately tried to calm down in the dark bedroom. A growl left his lips, husky and low, trying to focus himself on his current location and the fact he couldn’t just transform in the middle of a hotel room in an unknown city. Blonde hair poked from the other bed, slowly moving upward to meet a pair of blood red eyes in the dark.

“Whoa! Teme, are you okay? Your eyes are crazy right now!” Naruto was a little louder than intended, caught off guard by just how… strange his friend’s eyes looked in the moment. He rubbed at his own, trying to focus on what he was exactly seeing. When he reopened them he saw the most pained expression he had even seen on the Uchiha. 

His teeth might have been long, his eyes might have been a deep shade of red, but his face looked despaired. Naruto couldn’t recall any other time he had seen his best friend look like this. His own feelings wanted to swell to the surface at just how… _sad_ Sasuke looked. He wasn’t sure what to do, eventually moving out of his bed and over to his friend who remained perfectly still, dazing off into the wall in front where he sat. The blonde hopped up on the bed next to him, sitting cross-legged on top of the sheets. Sasuke didn’t seem disturbed at all, still stoic and unresponsive to his friend.

“Teme… We’ll get her back in the morning.” Naruto sighed. “I know the situation sucks. I know Madara is a bastard. I know you’ll have a _fantastic time_ explaining this one to your family, but we’ll get Sakura back first. We can figure everything out once we have her.”

Sasuke finally responded, a frown still covering his features but offered a small nod to answer his friend. Naruto didn’t miss the tear stains on Sasuke’s cheek, blue eyes softening at the exceptionally unusual emotion visibly evident. Letting out a tired sigh, he pat his friend on the back, feeling okay with going back to bed when he saw the points of Sasuke’s teeth slowly recede to normal. Sasuke radiated pure anger when Naruto initially woke up, but seemed to simmer down a bit. The past few days had been exhausting, and Naruto was starting to realize that Sasuke’s unusual outbursts were draining him just as much as they were to Sasuke. 

_This alpha shit is crazy… They really have_ **_that_ ** _natural control._

He glanced one more time at Sasuke as he jumped back into his own bed. The Uchiha had resumed laying down, facing away at the other wall with small snores. Naruto let that built up tension roll out of his body with a few stretches, feeling pretty comfortable as he fell back down into bed under the covers. 

_Sakura… I hope you’re okay._

_. . ._

When their ride arrived outside the building, Sasuke could feel his anger reaching a boiling point. His senses were screaming at him with every step they took towards the entrance, at the address Madara specified over text. Naruto remained close, at the ready for anything to go down or go horribly wrong. The latter was something they didn’t discuss ahead of time - it wasn’t a thought either of them wanted to entertain. When they reached the large metal door, a man opened it to greet them. He wore all black, with a distinctive scar covering half of his face - Sasuker recognized the man as an Uchiha, _this Obito guy._

“Madara waits inside,” Obito paused staring the two down with intense onyx eyes. He turned to let the two follow him inside and into a rather spacious and _nice_ space. Gray walls adorned the spacious inside, various luxury furniture pieces inside what seemed to be a lobby. A middle table held a bottle of wine with many glasses, obviously used before their arrival. The man of the hour finally appeared, sliding around from the opposite side of the room, glass in his hand with a dark red liquid - presumably, and hopefully, the wine that was opened.

Madara held a disgusting grin on his face as he walked closer, still keeping a safe distance from the two seething wolves that just entered his building. Naruto could feel the anger radiating from Sasuke, and it was exceptionally scary at that moment. Sasuke was willing himself to stay in skin as much as he physically could. Teeth still extended and eyes still wished to glow red, but his body remained human enough to hold a conversation. Obito disappeared behind the wall Madra arrived from, quickly appearing with a certain pinkette in his grasp.

Sakura was a _mess._ Her hair clung to her face in various matted wefts, clearly stuck to tears she had shed. The normally perky and happy jade gems adorning her face were cloudy, hazy, disorientated with where she was. Her clothes were torn up, rips and tears littering the sleeves of her sweater and her leggings. When Sasuke’s red-hot glare met her hazy one, many emotions started to well up inside of the Uchiha: anger, sorrow, rage, desperation, the list could continue but they were barely suppressed as they stood there in disbelief. Naruto was equally enraged, natural whiskers drawn on his face almost growing as his anger started to simmer, teeth starting to match. Madara could see the rage building in his two guests but motioned them to sit on the couches surrounding the one coffee table. When neither moved at his quiet request, he nudged to Obito who stoically pulled the pinkette up by her hair, eliciting a painful wail from her slender frame.

“Stop that you fucker!” Sasuke yelled, teeth in full view as he bellowed to the scarred Uchiha, who did nothing to stop holding her by her hair. Madara smirked, the disgusting facade seemingly pleased with his handiwork. Once again, he motioned to the couches, the two wolves barely holding their skin as they sat down, Sasuke eyeing Sakura the entire time. When they finally sat, Madara joined them on the couch across the table, Obito lightening up on his grip of Sakura’s hair.

“I actually come offering a proposition, pup.”

Sasuke wasn’t doing the best job keeping his anger under control, but who could blame him? The situation was fucked up. The alpha of his pact kidnapped his girlfriend and was holding her hostage. She looked like she had been through something beforehand and _that_ was lingering the worst on his mind. _Why the tears on her clothes? Her face looks so disorientated… Something’s not right. She hasn’t even said anything to us… which isn’t normal._

“Spit it out.” Sasuke sneered out the words, his voice extremely low, ready to pounce on the man at any moment for what he had done to his lover. Naruto didn’t exactly fare any better with the gold swirling quickly in his eyes as they sat next to each other. The blonde was a very happy, carefree guy, but this was Sakura. They were practically brother and sister and Naruto was also grappling with his emotions, telling him he should rip out the elder Uchiha’s throat.

“Simple. I wish to issue a _challenge_ , young pup. Traditional, of course.”

Sasuke knew what that meant. A _challenge_ was an ancient werewolf clan tradition. Back in the days before modern civilization, challenges were common and were how most wolves solved their disputes. It meant that two wolves would formally fight, leaving only one left to be declared the winner. Madara emphasized how it would be a traditional fight, which gave one rule in addition to the standard rules of a _challenge_ \- it was to the death. As modern as they were, as civilized they claimed to be, challenges were still a thing used to resolve extreme differences amongst wolves, but traditional fights were considered gone, taboo. Sasuke’s fists balled up at the thought of a formal fight between the two men. However, it wasn’t worry or second-guessing himself - he _wanted_ it. He _wanted_ to fight. To the death? _Good, I don’t have to hold back._

_. . ._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _We are about to have a fight on our hands..._


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sakura’s eyes watered, emotions askew as she watched her mate lose his sense of self. The way his teeth fully extended while in skin, the way his eyes showed no hint of onyx, the way his face held a twisted smile as he continued to pull at Madara. It was too much to watch.  
>  ** _Oh my god! He has to stop… That’s not Sasuke. I…_**  
>  _“STOP!”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So much action ; . ; So hard for me to write, but I gave it my best shot. I hope you all enjoy!
> 
> _I had you in my grip, but you're starting to slip  
>  Bring out the worst in me  
> And now it's come to end, I think I'm giving in  
> You set my demons free_

. . .

“I accept.” The words rang throughout the building, echoing off the walls as the blonde next to Sasuke went ghost white. His head snapped to meet red eyes, keeping his mouth shut, but worried about what his friend was agreeing to. Obito even seemed slightly unnerved, his grip still on Sakura’s hair but loosening enough for her to unconsciously sigh from the relief.

The smile on Madara’s face was _disgusting_ as it slithered up his face, meeting his eyes which were narrowed and humming red. He was more than eager to fight the young pup, hoping to finally show this clan who was really in charge after years of nonchalant attitudes. Standing up, he removed his gloves before gesturing to the large empty space at the back of the room. Naruto was holding himself together by a thread, and the fact Obito had Sakura right in his grasp was a constant reminder that he couldn’t jump into this fight.

_What is going on?_

Sakura let her eyes adjust, a pain in her scalp waking her up from a never-ending nap. Her body wasn’t reacting the way she wished. Her eyelids were heavy, not listening to her whims until they managed to slightly open up more. The haze was replaced by a few figures in her view, one standing up across from two that seemed to be sitting. She couldn’t move her head to see why her scalp hurt so much, but she was definitely being lifted up by something, her hair maybe? She wasn’t _quite_ sure, but it hurt. Trying to move her fingers was futile, nothing conforming to her wishes as she struggled to move any limb of hers. Her vision was still adjusting to the light, as it became accustomed to a day spent in complete darkness.

The figures started to become more obvious, a speck of blonde blossomed in her vision along with a short swath of raven hair and a longer set of locks on the standing man. Her brain slowly put two and two together and realized that the two sitting figures must be Naruto and Sasuke. _Sasuke!_ She tried to do the mind thing again, since he seemed to hear her before, but nothing worked. He didn’t seem to notice as his posture remained locked and focused entirely on the standing figure, Madara. She wanted to flinch thinking of that man, but she couldn’t move much regardless. The fact they were all together wasn’t good, knowing they must have just shown up to save her and how this was about to play out. Even with the blur in her vision, she could see the outline of Sasuke rise to meet Madara in a space behind the sitting area, still inside her current limited field of vision.

She tried to say something, _anything_ , cry, scream, but nothing would squeak out of her throat. Sakura desperately wanted to get Sasuke’s attention as he stood across from Madara in the adjoining space. She cursed to herself, pleading for her body to fend this off before it was too late. 

Sasuke remained still as Madara raised a hand to lay out the ground rules.

“Very simple pup, here are the rules. One, skin or fur, whatever you prefer. Two, no outside help,” he nudged to the Uzamaki who seemed to be internally screaming as he hesitantly watched from the sidelines. The blonde wanted to join in, his wolf especially did, but he couldn’t let Sakura get hurt from this other guy accompanying Madara. “It stops when one is no longer to continue, if that’s death then so be it.”

The younger Uchiha’s red eyes glowed under the low lights, focused entirely on the man standing mere feet away from him. Sasuke let all of his issues with Madara bubble upwards; the years of Madara’s asshole attitude towards the clan, the times Sasuke had to spend time near him and how much it _ate_ at him, and worst of all - **the fact he kidnapped his mate**. Madara let an evil smirk crawl onto his face, gracing his slightly aged features like it lived there on a regular basis. Sasuke knew he was always up to no good, but getting the chance to beat the living shit out of him was the _sweetest_ reward he had received in a long time. 

“Obito, give us a countdown.” Madara commanded, the other nodding while keeping a hold on Sakura’s pink locks.

“Yes my lord.” He took a pause as the other two Uchiha stared at one another. “I’m going to countdown from three to go. When I say go, it’s on. Three…”

Sasuke cracked his shoulders back, releasing some tension before the pain he knew was going to intensify in just a couple seconds. 

“Two…”

Madara let his smile grow wider, teeth forming sharp points just like the fiercest wolf.

“One…” 

Sasuke could feel the searing pain in his bones that began as he shifted some into the right position to lunge at the evil bastard.

“Go!” Obito roared, setting the two off against one another.

Madara and Sasuke immediately shifted, clothes tearing from their bodies, roars alighting the room as they crashed into one another at full speed. Madara managed to clamp down on a portion of Sasuke’s back, sinking his teeth down as the younger Uchiha howled. Naruto winced at the attack, knowing just how much that had to hurt. Sasuke wasn’t easily defeated, twisting his elongated wolf body out of the elder’s grasp, forcing him to release his teeth. They separated, each staring the other down with bright red eyes surrounded by raven fur. 

Madara held brownish black fur, and a larger body than Sasuke. The younger wolf was indeed slightly smaller, leaner, and jet black. It was clear the Uchiha patriarch had the upperhand in strength but Sasuke had speed and agility on his side. Silently from the side, Sakura was trying to take in the sight in front of her. She _knew_ Sasuke turned into a wolf. He explained that, and she had seen glimpses in things like his claws and eyes. It was a whole other animal to see what he _truly_ changed into. The moment Madara latched onto his flesh, Sakura wanted to yell and scream for her lover, but her body was barely working as her lips could somewhat move but no words would come out. Frustration grew in her body as the two wolves clashed again, claws meeting claws as they fell into a tumble on the floor. She could see the concern etched into Naruto’s face, the points of his teeth clearly visible as he watched helplessly. She heard Madara say that he couldn’t interfere with the fight, and the strong tug on her hair might have had something to do with that threat. 

_You’re awake._

Sakura blinked, hearing a voice echo in her head while she watched her mate give Madara a clean scratch across the muzzle. 

_I was starting to worry you were going to miss this. It’s me again._

Sakura could somewhat turn her head, her hair still firmly held in place which limited how much she could turn. Judging from the outfit on the man holding her, she confirmed it was the man from before who currently held her, _Obito._

**_What is happening? Why are they fighting like this? What about this ‘to the death’ shit Madara was talking about?!_ **

_Calm down there. Madara issued a challenge and you are the prize, Sakura._

She froze. Sakura didn’t want Sasuke getting hurt, and judging by the monstrous form Madara took as a wolf, it was likely that he was going to have some major injuries… or worse.

**_Can you do something? You helped us talk! There has to be a reason you helped us before. Please!_ **

_Look, I can’t do much. I have to do this shit. You think I want to serve a fucking tyrant like Madara? You aren’t the first woman he’s kidnapped. You’re the first alpha mate though, and considering how much Sasuke hates Madara, this fight isn’t getting stopped._

Sakura let her eyes move back to the fight. She watched Madara slam his body into Sasuke, dragging them both to the wall. Naruto was about to pounce when Obito stopped him.

“Don’t you fucking move.” Obito sternly ordered the Uzamaki. Red swirling in Obito’s eyes alarmed Naruto, deciding it was probably not a good idea to test Obito’s patience while he held Sakura’s hair.

 **_Why can’t I speak?_** Sakura felt tears well up in her eyes. **_I can’t do anything like this. I can’t move right. I can’t yell. What is happening?_ **

_A drug concoction Madara likes to use on women he kidnaps. It’s pretty strong shit._

Sasuke pushed back, getting the big older wolf off of him, and propelled himself off the wall onto his knocked form. Madara seemed a little surprised by the amount of strength the younger Uchiha possessed, but knew he still held an advantage in pure size and age. As Sasuke was about to grab the other wolf by the throat, Madara rolled out of his way and latched onto the younger wolf by the neck. Naruto jumped, cursing under his breath as his friend was in a real bind. Sasuke thrashed but could not seem to get the older wolf to release. 

**_What do we do?? He’s really hurt!_ **

_We_ _do nothing. But I wouldn’t count the younger Uchiha out just yet…_

Sakura could feel her voice somewhat coming back as a small squeak left her throat, but nothing loud enough for the others to hear over the sound of the scuffle. She nearly jumped when Sasuke tore himself out of the elder’s grasp. The two separating to circle one another in the limited space. Madara had a few tears into his flesh, but was able to walk relatively unscathed. Sasuke had sustained some heavy damage in the last couple of bites, but still circled to examine his opponent. His body hurt - a lot. His muscles didn’t like the way he contorted his wolf form to slither out of Madara’s attacks time after time. His jaw hurt from the repetitive attacks on the elder’s body, Sasuke knowing it was really from his lack of shifting lately.

They circled a few more times before lunging against one another again. Sasuke let his anger fuel his fast paced attacks, small lethal bursts of angry teeth and claws. Everything seemed to narrow on the older wolf, thoughts slowly fading away as the wolf was given free reign over his mind. Blaring red eyes zeroed in on the larger wolf, leaping on top of his bigger body and pinning the elder in place. As quickly as he knocked him over, catching Madara completely off guard with his speed, his teeth sunk deep into his flesh. Madara howled at the pain, not expecting such a quick and viscous attack from the younger wolf. The bite was deep, blood littering the floor around them as Madara flailed under the younger Uchiha’s grip.

A howl filled the room as he threw the younger Uchiha promptly off of his body. Madara was noticeably weakened, but still retaining fur in his severely injured state. Sasuke saw an opportunity as Madara was too weakened to leap back towards him. Swiftly flowing behind the elder’s writhing form, Sasuke painfully shifted back to skin in the blink of an eye, catching the elder’s front two legs in his grasp. Mounting him from behind, Sasuke yanked his front legs back as hard as he could in skin, Madara’s legs audibly popping out of the socket with a painful roar. He wasn't backing down with that, deciding to keep pulling as hard as he could as muscles began to tear with each passing second. Madara’s howl grew with every painful tear that seemed to draw out for an eternity. 

Sakura’s eyes watered, emotions askew as she watched her mate lose his sense of self. The way his teeth fully extended while in skin, the way his eyes showed no hint of onyx, the way his face held a twisted smile as he continued to pull at Madara. It was too much to watch.

**_Oh my god! He has to stop… That’s not Sasuke. I…_ **

“STOP!”

The yell came from the pinkette who was writhing under Obito’s grasp. Sasuke’s wrath paused to turn his blazing eyes towards teary jade. She just _couldn’t_ take this anymore. Sakura was a lot of things, but none of those involved so much... violence. Hearing the amount of pain that Madara was in was becoming too much for her - regardless of how much she hated the man. Yeah, she despised him, but seeing anyone torn apart in this way was unbearable to watch. Sasuke’s eyes didn’t radiate any of the warmth she was accustomed to. Ebony orbs had been consumed by fiery red, blood and cuts dashed across his nude features from intense fighting, teeth filling his mouth in a terrible half smile. It didn’t take much evaluation for her to know this wasn’t the Sasuke she loved, not her mate, but some manifestation of his wolf side.

Sakura’s cry broke Sasuke from his hellbent fury. The tunnel vision had faded, and his grip on Madara grew lax as the larger wolf whimpered in pain. The realization set in that he was determined to **kill** Madara, and not in the fastest way possible. His wolf enjoyed the violence, **relished in it** , until a pained cry broke him out of that trance. Naruto remained speechless, eyes shifting between his two closest friends with uneasiness littering his cerulean gaze. The room went silent, except for the occasional whimper escaping the elder’s muzzle. Sasuke kept his gaze locked with Sakura, finally releasing Madara’s legs once his normal self came back to take control of his mind. He could see the relief etched into his mate’s face as she sighed, Obito releasing her hair as it was clear Madara couldn’t continue. 

After retrieving some clothes from the adjacent space, Obito threw a plain black tracksuit at the Uchiha to cover up his nudity. Curiously, Madara remained in fur as he cautiously scooted away from the younger alpha. As much as he hated to even think the words, Madara knew he lost. His front legs were completely unresponsive from the younger Uchiha’s final attack. He knew once he shifted back to skin the pain would only be _so much worse_ as the bones and muscle would try their best to align once again. He decided to stay in fur for a little longer to ease the pain. Barely able to get herself off the ground, Sakura ran towards Sasuke before crashing into him at full speed as her legs gave out. He fell backwards on his ass on the hard floor, but still held her in his firm grasp. Overcome with many different emotions in the moment, Sakura finally let out her pent up sobs while they sat on the floor, Sasuke still fully nude as he whispered sweet words into her ear to calm her down. 

Naruto let out the loudest sigh known to human, and wolf, kind as he chuckled at the insanity of it all. Obito didn’t seem overly concerned with the situation as he evaluated the elder Uchiha with a straight line across his face. Madara let out another pained howl as Obito examined his injuries more closely. 

“His front legs are totally unresponsive. I don’t think he’ll ever be running or walking in fur again after this.” His words held a heavy weight as everyone else in the room nodded at the remark. With that fact now out in the open, it was clear Madara could no longer be considered the alpha of a pack if he lost the challenge AND lost the ability to fully move in fur. Sasuke didn’t even bother with that information, because for now his entire focus was on Sakura. 

His mate. His lover. His Sakura. 

“Oi. Teme, put those clothes on already.”

. . .

The plane ride was a lot less tense than the one they took to get Sakura. Naruto sat on the opposite side of the plane as the other two, letting Sasuke and Sakura share the two adjacent seats across the aisle. Sakura was sound asleep under a provided blanket, leaning against the Uchiha, and partially in his seat space, as she softly snored. Sasuke let his hand run through her hair every once and awhile, letting the pink locks flow through his fingers. He felt so much better with his mate seated next to him, safe and sound with him and the dobe.

“There’s gonna be _one hell of a talk_ when we get back. You ready for that?”

Sasuke shrugged, still twisting his fingers through pink stands and focusing on the soft sounds his mate made in her sleep. Family matters were sitting distant in his mind once he finally sat next to Sakura. Naruto was understandably worried, but Sasuke was too preoccupied to care at the moment.

“Well, you know I have your back regardless,” Naruto said before waving down a flight attendant. “Could I get some pretzels? Maybe a soda too?” The stewardess nodded before running off quickly to the cart near the front of the plane. She returned with three drinks and three bags of pretzels, handing the two extra to Sasuke and his sleeping mate. He took them, but put them on his tray for later as Sakura was still snoozing away. 

“Thank god she’s okay,” Naruto murmured, opening his pretzels after glancing at Sakura. “Madara and ‘what’s his face’ didn’t say much when we left. Kinda shocked by that.”

“There wasn’t much to say.” Sasuke answered, eyes not leaving Sakura. “He clearly lost. Obito will deal with Madara for now. Probably move back up North”

“Yeah, but he didn’t seem like the type to just accept it, you know?” Naruto crunched on his pretzels loudly, letting his seat slightly recline as he snacked away. “But at least Sakura is home for good now.”

“Yeah…” Sasuke pushed some stray hairs out of the pinkette’s face, a small sigh escaping her lips in her sleep. She was out the minute they sat down on the plane. They didn’t waste time buying last minute tickets right after retrieving her. Sasuke wanted to get her home as soon as possible, not wasting time as he paid steep ticket prices for the next flight out. Considering their circumstances, he would rather Tsunade check on his mate anyways than some random doctor in an unknown city who might learn too much. 

Next came his parents. How would he even start? Would Madara send notice before they got home? There were a lot of loose ends to sort before things could find a new “normal”. He knew his brother would have his back, considering the major differences he had with Madara. His mother always supported him, even when he was acting like a major shithead as a teenager, but his father… His father was the wild card in all of this. His father was not an alpha, never was, but a son taking charge before their father was just unheard of. Sasuke didn’t necessarily want to assume the role if it meant tearing up what his family had. 

_Think about that later._

“ _Sasuke…_ ” a small whimper left Sakura’s lips, Sasuke’s ears perking up as the name left her mouth. Naruto heard it too, eyeing the couple between sips of his soda. She was clearly still asleep, safe in his arms, but Sasuke pulled her slightly closer after she spoke. He wasn’t taking any other chances with Sakura now. _I should have gone with her…_

“I know that look. Stop that, teme.” Naruto sternly said, no joking apparent in his face as he eyed down the Uchiha with sharp cerulean eyes. “Everything’s fine, we’ll be home soon, and we can finally get Sakura moved in properly.”

“ _I love you…_ ” Sasuke knew she was sleeping, probably just dreaming, but Sasuke felt his cheeks slightly redden at the mention of those words. Something about hearing that affirmation aloud solicited such a strong reaction in him. He was pleased, and so seemed his wolf, as Naruto pointed to his teeth to let Sasuke know to chill a little. Sasuke calmed himself a bit, letting his mind blank so his fangs would retreat. If that was all it took for his wolf to come out, he couldn’t imagine what it was going to be like when they finally got home and were alone together once more.

. . . 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah I was thinking of the Forest of Death scene where Sasuke tears that kid's arms out of the socket while writing the fight.  
> If it wasn't obvious enough lol


End file.
